


Stolen From Me

by East02End



Category: EastEnders
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:08:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 47
Words: 43,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22616152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/East02End/pseuds/East02End
Summary: It was my take on the spoilers from Callum getting kidnapped but it’s turned into a whole fic! Some on here wanted me to explore Callum’s PTSD further so I carried it on.
Comments: 138
Kudos: 107





	1. Chapter 1

“What if I mess it up, Stu?”

“You won’t. Would you just stop pacing, it’s driving me crazy!”

“Sorry.” Callum sat down next to Stuart on the sofa, wringing his hands together instead. “I need this to go right.”

“I know you do, your gonna be fine, I’ve tried telling you that for like the last two hours.”

“What if do something wrong?”

“And what if you don’t?”

“I don’t know! I’ve literally done everything possible.”

“Then you’ll do great won’t you?”

“Argh, I feel sick.” Callum disappeared into the bathroom.

Stuart took his phone form the side, dialling Ben’s number. 

“Ben! Erm, could you come to the flat?”

“Is Callum okay?!”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s fine. Well, I say fine he’s driving me insane, pacing around. He’s got his police assessment thingy today and he seems to think he’s gonna fail, even though I’ve told he won’t about a thousand times. Can’t you try and talk to him, he’ll listen to you?”

“Let me finish up here then I’ll be round.”

“Cheers, I’ll make myself scarce, he’ll probably listen to you.”

“You okay?” Stuart asked Callum when he returned. 

“Yup. False alarm. Again.”

“Your fine, Callum. I need to go see Rainie ‘bout something. You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, you go. Got a bit of time before the assessment anyway. I’ll probably just stay here and go over everything again.”

“You’ll be fine.” 

He was still pacing around when Stuart left, walking over to the door to let Ben in. He gave Ben a light kiss, before returning back to his pacing. 

“Your driving me insane and I’ve literally just walked through the door.” Wondering how Stuart coped for nearly two hours of it. 

“I can’t help it! I’m nervous!”

“Just slow down.” Ben held onto Callum’s arms, rubbing his hands down them slowly. “Just breathe, yeah?” 

Callum nodded slowly looking at Ben feeling sick again. They both said nothing for a while, Callum trying to breathe normally. 

Ben guided him to the sofa, sitting them both down, Callum still not looking away from him. 

“Your going to be fine. Your going to go in there and smash it. Everyone believes in you, now you just need to believe in yourself.” 

Callum smiled at him, feeling less sick. “I don’t wanna mess it up.”

“You won’t.” Ben sounded so sure, not faltering, looking straight at Callum. “They’d be lucky to have you.”

“You think so?”

Ben held Callum’s face in his hands, stroking his thumbs across his face. 

“I don’t think so. I know so. Your smart and talented and you have been working so hard for this, I know you can do it.”

“What if I’m not good enough?”

“Don’t ever say your not good enough. If they can’t see how amazing and brilliant and ridiculously sexy your gonna look in that uniform-“

Callum grinned at him, as Ben pulled him into a hug. 

“Then they’re not good enough for you, not you not being good enough.”

Callum buried his head into Ben’s neck, breathing him in, making him feel calmer. 

“Actually forget that last part.” Ben told him. 

Callum sat back up frowning at him.

“Eh?”

“Don’t want anyone else checking you out in your uniform. Your for my eyes only.” He grinned. 

“I’ll just have to make sure only you get to see them won’t I?” He smiled pressing a kiss to Ben’s mouth. 

“As long as you bring those handcuffs home with you...”

Callum kissed Ben again his hands drifting to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. 

“Come on, I’ll be making you late next, then you’ll be going nowhere.” Ben pulled away standing up, smiling at Callum, frowning at him. 

“I was enjoying that.” Callum stood up, wrapping his arms around Ben’s waist kissing him again.

“Cal...” He smiled anyway, kissing him back, edging closer to the door. He pulled away, Callum glaring at him again.

“Come on, I’ve got ages ‘til I go. I’m sure we can make use of the time...”

“I’m not gonna make you late. Go on, get yourself ready.”

“It’s not my fault you put the idea into my head.”

“What’s got into you today?” Ben laughed. He took Callum’s arms from around his waist, making Callum frown at him. 

“You hopefully.”

“Callum!” He smacked him on the arm, grinning at him, opening the front door. 

“Argh, don’t go yet!”

“I’ll have to, to stop you from trying to rip me clothes off!”

“Please...” He smiled sweetly at Ben, pouting slightly. 

“No! It’s not gonna work this time!” Walking backwards out the front door. 

“It usually does.” He huffed. 

“I will not be the cause of you missing your assessment. Now go and smash it.” He kissed Callum quickly, teasing him, dashing out the front door.

Callum grinned to himself closing the door, not feeling sick or so nervous anymore. 

Callum walked over to the intercom by the door, smiling to himself when the door buzzed. 

“Changed your mind? Or you just forget something?”He grinned. 

He clicked the button, swinging the door open, not waiting for a reply, going to sit on the sofa.


	2. Chapter 2

Callum sat back down on the sofa, waiting for Ben, closing his eyes. 

“Come on, what did you forget? Bet you haven’t come back for me.” He smiled. 

“Course I’ve come back for you.”

Callum opened his eyes, not recognising the voice at first, turning his head to see who it was. 

“Fuck...”

He shot out his chair, walking swiftly backwards away from Keanu. 

“He’s told you then? That’s it’s me he ‘killed’? Or you wouldn’t be looking like that.” He chuckled. 

“Your... what? Your meant...” He pointed shakily at him, putting it all down to being so nervous about his assessment. Surely he was seeing things?

“To be dead? Yeah, I know. It’s funny really isn’t it? Bet Ben’s being walking around really... pleased with himself.”

“What? No! Course he hasn’t!”

“Oh so he has got a conscience then? I knew he’d tell you eventually. Cares too much about you.”

“How...” He was still lost for words, shaking. 

“Am I still alive?” He finished. “It’s a long story. Might make you see Ben differently. Sit.”

He nodded to the sofa. 

“I don’t want to sit. Just tell me how you are... here.”

“Sit.” He said again. 

“No! I won’t be told what to do in my own home!”

Keanu pulled a gun out, aiming it at Callum. 

“SIT!” He hissed. 

“Okay! I’m sitting.” He shuffled closer to Keanu, sitting on the other end from him, still standing behind the sofa. 

“You want to play the hard game, we will. Now, if you co-operate, you can get to to your assessment thingy on time.”

Callum frowned at him. “How do you know about that?”

“Oh I’ve got my sources.”

“Have you been... watching me!”

“You, Ben. For quite some time actually. You only got back together the other week, didn’t you? He finally made you believe his lies.”

“He hasn’t lied! Your not right in the head! Stalking me!”

He glanced from Keanu to the gun, still aimed right at his chest. 

His mind screaming at him to get out of there. He tried to remember what he’d been training for. Don’t give him any reason to fire, don’t anger him anymore. Co-operate until you can get out of there.

“Ah, but is it stalking if you didn’t know?” 

“You’ve been watching me?!” 

“Maybe. You see, I need Ben to pay.”

“For what? Killing you?! When your clearly not!!”

“Sending me away, he basically forced me to leave, and now I’ve lost everything.”

“You slept with your fiancé’s stepmother! Of course your gonna lose everything!”

“And you know what’s the most important thing to him?”

“You dare touch Lexi...”

“Oh no, I’m not that cruel, I wouldn’t hurt a child, but I’d sure take her if it meant getting through to Ben. But you however... Your just about the most precious thing in his life right now.”

“You’d use a little girl just to carry out your... revenge?”

“If it means I’d get what I want, yeah. I’ll just go and find her shall I?” 

He walked backwards to the front door slowly, still aiming the gun, Callum playing right into his hands. 

“No!” He stood up quickly, holding his hands up, letting him know he wasn’t going to try anything. 

“Don’t hurt her. Please. Leave her out of it. She’s just a kid, she doesn’t deserve to be dragged into all this. Use me.”

Keanu smirked at him, stepping away from the door, still keeping the gun trained on Callum. 

“And what is it you want me to do?” Callum asked. 

“I need you to get Ben to come to me. I need him to come willingly. He would have if I’d got Lexi, but if you lead him unaware, that’s even better.”

“Are you actually being serious? You think, I’m gonna do that?! Lead him into a trap? Are you insane??!!”

“You will if this were to... let’s say... accidentally go off.” He waved the gun at him, steadying his arm at Callum again. 

“So if you kill me, what’s that gonna achieve?!”

“The pain that Ben would feel if he knew I’d killed you.”

“I won’t do it! I’m never going to do it!”

“You sure, you want to do that?”

“Yes!! I’m not gonna sell Ben down the river to you!” 

“So you do want to play the hard game, I’ll just have try plan B then.”

He strode round the sofa, Callum backing away from him into the wall.

“Stay away from me!”

Keanu ignored him, pulling him from the wall, shoving him forward, pressing the gun into his back.

“I don’t think your in a position to be ordering me around, do you?”

He shoved him forward towards the front door, wrapping his other arm around his chest from behind. 

“Get off me!” Callum tried to shake him off, but Keanu pressed it further into his back, hurting him. 

“Do you want me to pull this trigger cos I will, if you don’t stop struggling.”

“I’m not struggling, believe me if I wanted to get you off I would.”

“Only problem is, I’m the one with the loaded gun.”

Callum said nothing, knowing Keanu was right. If he moved anymore, he wouldn’t get far before Keanu would shoot him. 

“Such a shame your gonna miss you’re little assessment now isn’t it?” He hissed in his ear. “That’s not gonna look good is it, not turning up?”

He kept his arm wrapped around Callum pushing towards the front door, the gun still pressed firmly into his back. 

“Now, your gonna do exactly what I say. You got that?”

Callum said nothing slowly walking forward. 

“You hear me?!”

He nodded quickly, feeling the cold of the gun, seeping through him like ice. 

“Good, or this won’t end well. For EITHER of you, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want Ben to get hurt either...”


	3. Chapter 3

Keanu shoved Callum down the stairs, leaving the front door open at the top, pushing him down in front of him. He didn’t move the gun until he got to the bottom, shoving Callum against the wall, pressing the gun into his chest instead. 

Keanu open the door at the bottom slowly, checking to see if people were around to see. Callum didn’t move or make a sound knowing exactly what Keanu would do if he made the slightest move. 

When he was satisfied, he pulled Callum forward shoving him out the front door. 

“Where are you taking me?”

“That’s for you to wonder and me to know, get in.” 

He shoved Callum into the back of a van anyway. 

“Phone. Can’t have you ringing anyone, can I?”

Callum did as he was told, giving him his phone, Keanu snatching it away from him quickly. 

“Passcode.”

“0812.” 

Whitney’s birthday. He’d never changed it from before. 

Keanu checked it, nodded to himself and slammed the door, plunging Callum into darkness. 

He shuffled into the corner, bringing his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them, into a tight ball. He jolted forward slightly when Keanu drove, bracing his hand on the floor. 

It felt like they were driving for hours, Callum feeling every bump in the road, until the van slowed and stopped. 

Keanu opened the door again, the light streaming back in, making Callum squint slightly. 

“Out.”

He got out, expecting Keanu to press the gun to him again, but he didn’t, knowing Callum had no idea where they were, so there was no point trying to escape. It looked like they were at an abandoned mill somewhere. 

He pushed Callum forward inside, making him cough slightly. It was so dusty in there. Only one light in the corner. Nothing else in there, apart from a couple of chairs and some old stuff they used before the place was abandoned. 

“What you gonna do, tell Ben I’m here so he’ll come?”

“Not just yet, I need to get everything arranged.”

“Arranged?”

“We’ve got to have a little fun first.” 

The last thing Callum remembered was a sharp pain on the side of his head, from Keanu hitting him with the gun, before he blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4

Callum groaned to himself, trying to reach his head, looking down when he realised his arms were tied to a chair. 

He looked around, his vision slightly blurry, forgetting where he was before it came back to him. 

“Hurt?” Keanu asked, crouching down, smirking at him. 

“What do you think?” He looked at Keanu, still seeing two of him. 

“Good. I might not be able to get to Ben, but I sure can hurt you.”

“What’s the plan now then? Wait for Ben to come? How’s he gonna know where we are?”

“Not told him yet his precious, devoted boyfriend’s been stolen from him have I? I’d love to see his face, when he realises you’ve gone. Might pay him a visit.”

“What’s the point in taking me then, if you your gonna see Ben anyway?”

“Cos he’s not going to have any... motivation shall I say, for getting me what I want.”

“And what do you want?”

“It’s a mystery...”

Callum vision finally sharpened watching Keanu running his finger along a blade on a knife. 

“You have come prepared haven’t you? What else you got? An axe? Whole set of torture weapons?” Callum told him. 

Callum tensed up, when Keanu ran the blade gently on the side of his face, bringing it back to himself, looking it over. Callum’s blood running down the blade from where he hit him with the gun. 

“Wonder if Ben’ll think you’ve left him, when he realises you’ve gone? That’d be interesting.”

“He wouldn’t think that, I’d never just leave.”

“But would he think you’ve been taken though? A guy like you, such a kind soul.” He sneered. “You’ve got no enemies, well apart from Whitney, when you broke her heart, told her you’d been... fumbling around with Ben.”

“Course, Whitney’s gonna threaten me with a gun and knife, tie me up isn’t she?? She’s my friend, not my enemy.”

“Ben might already realise you’ve gone, how long’s it been now? ‘bout six, seven hours? He’s bound be worrying now?”

“Shall we give him a call? Let him know what’s he going to lose?”

“You will anyway...”

Keanu stood up, pressing the blade up against Callum’s chin, forcing him to look up at him.

“I think you should try giving me less cheek, thank you.”

He pressed it a little harder before taking it away, leaving Callum’s blood from the side of his face from the blade, along his chin and neck instead. 

“Now here’s the question, do we call from your phone or mine? He’s more likely to pick up if it’s you.”

Keanu took Callum’s phone from his pocket, looking at it for a while. 

“Arr, isn’t this cute?” It was a photo of him, Ben and Lexi, when they’d all gone to the park one day. “You look so happy. Shame.”

“We were until you came along.”

He pointed the knife at Callum again. “I’d be careful what you say.”

“What was the password again?” Keanu entered it anyway, scrolling through Callum’s contacts. “Ben, Ben, Ben.” He said to himself trying to find it. “Or have you got him down as something else? Like lover boy, or something? Oo, maybe murderer, he has got form in the past.”

“That was an accident. He was still young.”

“Are, my heart bleeds for him. Poor Ben, I killed a woman, let’s all feel sorry for me.”

Callum said nothing, glaring at Keanu. 

“Why are you even with him, when you know he killed someone? Well, when I say killed, it clearly didn’t work and when I say someone, I mean yours truly.”

“I got that.”

Keanu pressed the knife under Callum’s chin again, cutting him slightly, making him wince. 

“What did I say about giving me cheek?”

He wiped the blade clean on Callum’s face, smearing his blood along his cheek. 

“He’s a good person.”

“Really? You think? Ben is a lying, clearly very stupid-“ 

Callum strained in the chair, trying to get to him. 

Keanu smirked at him, taking a step back. 

“Actually before I ring him, I might go and give him a little surprise.” He chuckled. “Bet he’ll be even more shocked, than you were. I’ve really gotta see his face.”

“You leave him alone...”

“Come on Callum, keep up, this is the whole point of keeping you here. What would the point in having you if I couldn’t hurt Ben? You’d be no use to me. Thought you cops, were meant to be clever, have a brain. Shame you missed your little assessment now, isn’t it?”

He ran the blade across Callum’s cheek, his blood starting to run down his face, stinging from where he’d just cut him. 

“Aa, you bastard!”

Keanu pressed it even harder, making Callum whine slightly. 

“If you hurt him...” He said anyway, clenching his jaw, trying to stop some of the pain. 

“Yes? Carry on? Your gonna threaten me. Don’t think your in any position to be threatening me looking like that.” He waved the blade to the chair, motioning to his tied arms and legs. 

Callum said nothing, glaring at Keanu instead. 

“I might go see him now actually. Don’t go anywhere!” He smiled. 

He left Callum alone, sliding the door shut and locking it.


	5. Chapter 5

Ben sat in the café, cradling a mug of coffee. He frowned at his watch, wondering why Callum hadn’t called him. He told him he’d ring as soon as he came out, tell him how it all went. He must have been out for hours now. 

“Mum?”

Kathy looked up, smiling at Ben. 

“Callum hasn’t been in here, has he? Before I came in here.”

“Don’t think so, Love. Have you lost him?”

“Something like that...” 

He stood up, giving her his mug. 

“Might go and see Stuart, see if he’s seen him.”

“You worry too much. I doubt he’s been kidnapped.” She chuckled. “Bet he’s just with some of the other people who were there.”

“Maybe...”

Ben walked outside, looking around deciding who to talk to first. 

“Oo, Whit! You haven’t seen Callum have you? If you’ve been on your stall all day, maybe you’ve seen him go by?”

“Erm, no I don’t think so? Is everything okay?”

“Err, yeah, just need to find him.”

He hadn’t been through the market once today, surely he would have, to go to his assessment? 

“Stuart, he’ll know...” He muttered to himself. 

“Sure your alright?” Whitney asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just need to find Callum...”

“He’ll come to you, when he’s ready.”

Ben nodded not really listening, spotting Jack instead. 

“Jack!” He jogged over time him, still looking around for Callum.

“What is it?”

“How did Callum’s assessment go?”

“Pfft, you don’t know do you?”

“Know what?”

“He didn’t turn up.”

“What? He was so excited?”

“Yeah, well, next time you see him, tell him if he wants any chance in the force, he’s gonna need to turn up on time and actually make an effort.” 

Jack shook his head walking off. 

“Do you know why?” He called. 

“Nope, just never came, not even to say he didn’t want to do it, thought he was one of the good ones.”

Ben frowned to himself. Something wasn’t right. He knew Callum would never just not turn up. He was so excited, when he left. Nervous, yeah, but not enough to not go. 

“Err, thanks anyway.”

“If this went right, he really had a good chance, you know?” 

“I know...” Ben turned around, trying to think where Stuart would be, Callum’s earlier words echoing in his head. ‘I need this to go right...’ 

He tried the funeral parlour first, checking to see if Callum or Stuart was in there. Neither were. 

“Pub.”

He walked into the Vic, scanning around. 

“You alright, Ben? You look a little lost?” Mick said. 

“Take it, you haven’t seen Callum either? Or Stuart?”

“Callum? No. Stuart? He’s over there.” Ben nodded walked over to him. 

“Callum?” He was running out of people now.

“What about him?”

“You seen him?”

“No, thought he’d be with you?”

“Supposed to be, I can’t find him, anywhere.”

“Have you tried the flat? Maybe he went there first?”

“No. Should have checked there first really.”

“You got a key?”

Stuart chucked him his key. 

“Come tell me if he’s not there, I’ll help you look.”

Ben nodded walking aimlessly back out the pub down the market. 

“You still not found him?” 

He glanced at Whitney, but ignored her, carrying on walking. 

“Ben?!”

Taking the key out he looked up the stairs, the door already open.

“Why’d he leave the door open?”

He walked up slowly, putting the key back in his pocket, looking around the flat, for anything out of place. Nothing seemed different. 

“Where are you, Cal?” He whispered. 

“Miss me?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I doubt these fics are as well written as my other fics cos I’m trying to get them all out but I want to thank smugdendingle and ballumm. Your my self elected supporters, always dropping me comments in all my fics, it’s people like you who inspire me to write, so thanks guys! X 🥰

Ben spun around, recognising the voice instantly.

“Cat got your tongue?” Keanu chuckled. 

“Your supposed to be...”

“I know!” He laughed. “That is priceless. I just had to see your face when you saw me.”

Ben stood rooted to the spot, staring at Keanu, his breathing becoming fast and heavy. 

“I don’t...”

“Well, I never. I didn’t think I’d see the day, Ben Mitchell, lost for words. No smart remarks, threats?”

“This isn’t possible...”

“It clearly is. Yours truly, standing right here.” He bowed dramatically, smirking at Ben, still standing on the same spot. 

“How are you here?”

“Funny that...” He mused circling around Ben. 

“How is this funny?”

“Oh many reasons, Ben. Cos you’ve probably been walking around bold as brass. Because it’s amusing knowing that I’m still here, with you thinking I was six feet under somewhere. Because your standing here right now, your mind racing, thinking, how is this possible? How did I get away? But you want to know the thing that’s most funny about that question, how am I here?”

Ben said nothing watching Keanu walking round him until he reached the front, grinning at him. 

“Callum asked that exact question.”

He snapped out of it instantly, glaring at Keanu. Ben strode towards him fisting his hands in shirt, slamming him against the wall. 

“Touch him, and I’ll kill you myself.” 

Keanu grimaced, saying nothing, letting Ben know he’d already ‘touched’ him. 

“You bastard! Where is he?”

“Who said I’ve taken him?” He smiled. 

“WHERE. IS. CALLUM??!” He pushed Keanu further into the wall, but still he smirked at Ben. 

“Well, I’m not sure WHERE exactly he is, didn’t really pick a particular place, I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

“I swear if you’ve hurt him, you’ll know what pain feels like.”

“Bit late for that. You’d have to ask him if he’s ‘hurting’. Shame you can’t really.”

Ben pulled Keanu forward, slamming him back against the wall.

“This isn’t his fault!!”

“Aah, but it’s YOUR fault.”

“Surely he’d have fought back, he’s not just gonna let you take him!”

“Here’s the thing, I was gonna take Lexi...”

Ben pushed him further into the wall, Keanu finally letting out a small groan. 

“Don’t you dare touch my daughter too.” He hissed. 

“Calm down, I don’t want her anymore, I’ve got Callum, that’s even better. Your lovely boyfriend, sacrificed himself for the sake of your daughter. Came willingly, you know?”

Ben loosened his grip slightly, realising that Callum would let himself be in danger just to protect Lexi. 

Keanu shoved him away putting some space between them again. 

“He sacrificed himself for YOUR daughter. Now that is devotion right there, I hope you appreciated him.”

“I’m not stupid. Using past tense like you’ve already killed him, I know you wouldn’t do that, until I give you what you want.”

“Stupid enough to not kill me yourself. Seriously Ben, Martin! You asked MARTIN, to kill me! You should have seen him, he’d never have done it. Too much of a jittery mess. Now I know that Callum is worth a lot to you.”

Callum wasn’t worth anything to Ben. He was priceless. Ben would never forgive himself if Keanu hurt him anymore. 

“Now if he’s worth a lot to you, that means he’s worth a lot to me, to get to you.”

“He means NOTHING to you!”

Ben took a stride forward, Keanu darting on the other side of the sofa before Ben could get to him. 

“But Callum means more to you. You’ll get me what I want, if you want Callum back in one piece.”

“And what is it you want?”

“Money.”

“Is that it? I give you money, you’ll let Callum go?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On how much you manage to get me.”

“And what’s the deadline, there’s bound to be one.”

“Dunno, I’ll surprise you.”

“5 grand?”

“Bit more than that really.”

“Go on, then?”

“Hundred.”

“Hundred grand! I’m not a millionaire, you know!”

“Criminal like you, I’m sure it won’t be that hard.”

“And you give me your word, Callum won’t get hurt?”

“Sorry, no guarantees, I’m afraid.”

“Your sick.” He spat. 

Keanu ignored him, backing toward the front door slowly.

“If you want Callum, you’ll get me what I want. How about I check in on you in say, 24 hours? See what you’ve got so far? And if your a good boy, I might be generous and give you a little update on Callum.”

Ben glared at him, as Keanu disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

Ben sank down onto the sofa, wrapping his arms around his sides, rocking himself, in a trance.

Callum. HIS Callum had be stolen from him. And it was all his fault. This is why he didn’t want to get too involved with Callum in the first place. He knew he’d fall for him and he knew as soon as he did Callum would get taken away from him somehow, like some kind of cruel punishment for all the bad things he’d done in the past.

He tried not to believe he’d fallen for Callum for so long, terrified if he admitted it, then Callum would get taken from him and just as he really started to believe it, both of them in a good place, it did happen, just as he feared.

But Callum had been there for him through everything, showing him it was okay to Love. Callum loves him and he’d never said it back even though he’d wanted to so many times before but he was too scared too.

Callum loves him that much, he’d give himself away just to protect Lexi and him, even though all of this was his mess. He wasn’t scared of loving someone, he scared of feeling loved by someone else, knowing that Callum trusted him and gave all of himself to Ben. Scared to be loved.

Ben could feel his heart thudding in his chest as he sobbed to himself, not daring to think where Callum was, how much pain he was in, how much Keanu had hurt him already. He buried his head in his hands, choking out small whines.

Ben braced his hand on the sofa, his chest feeling tight as he struggled to breathe, crying even harder in the silence of the flat.

He’d never give up on him. Ben wouldn’t stop looking for Callum until he found him and knew he was safe.

He was trying to think of a fast way to get the money when his phone pinged with a new message, making him jump from his thoughts.

From Keanu- Don’t go telling anyone either, or you’ll know what will happen...

A second later an image pinged through of a knife on a table, a large crimson river running down it.

Ben whimpered to himself, just knowing it was Callum’s blood, another warning to give Keanu what he wanted. No photo of Callum, leaving Ben with no idea how much pain and damage Keanu had caused him already.

Keanu- Decided, I want at least 10 grand by tomorrow. CASH. Chop chop, only 23 hours to go. 23 hours of Callum’s life ticking away. Might extend his time left, if you give me the first lot of what I want.

Ben threw his phone across the room, sliding from the sofa onto the floor, whining to himself, his sobs morphing into low moans.

23 hours. 23 hours to find 10 grand, in cash, tell no one and let Callum live a little longer.

All he could hear in his head was the clock on the wall ticking away, Callum’s life slowly ticking away. Callum’s life being held in Ben’s hands.


	8. Chapter 8

Callum looked up when Keanu walked back in, pulling a chair up near him. He swung it round sitting on it backwards so he could lean on the top.

“Tut, tut. You been struggling? There’s no point, your not gonna get out.”

Callum looked down at his wrists, turning red from he’d been trying to get them free but had hurt himself even more. He looked towards the door, the light streaming in. 

“Sorry to disappoint but Ben isn’t here. He’s not here to rescue you.”

Callum glared at Keanu instead saying nothing. The blood on his head from where he hit him with the gun before, becoming sticky, beginning to dry down the side of his face. The fresh cut along his cheek still trickling his warm blood down his face. 

“Did pay him a visit if your wondering. Ah, you should have seen his face. Told you it’d be priceless. He was proper speechless, until I said your name. Then he snapped out of his little trance. Shoved me against a wall. Bit rude in my opinion, threatening me when I can easily take you away from him. I mean, threatening me? Who does he think he is?”

“Good.” Callum hissed back at him. 

“Don’t worry, I told him you were the little sacrifice for his kid. Personally, I think your insane, getting involved with him, with any of the Mitchell’s.”

“You did, what’s the difference?”

“Now Ben and Lou are different. You’ve got Lou who cares about her family, and then there’s Ben who’s always out for what he can get. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself, he’s lied to you about everything, about who he really is.”

“Why take me if he cares about nothing?”

“Because he’s reeling you in. Using you.”

“For what gain? He’s got no point in using me for nothing. Course he cares, you just can’t see it, cos your insane! You know he cares or you wouldn’t using me as your little pawn. Remind me again who led you into the trap with Martin in the first place. Weren’t you meant to be ‘running’ away together?”

Keanu glared at him, pointing the knife at him again. 

“Lou was confused. She didn’t know what she was doing. Yeah, she was angry, but course she still loves me.”

“You sure about that?”

Keanu ignored him, looking over the blade, Callum’s blood still over it. 

“Now Ben on the other hand. He lies and schemes to get what he wants. I have no idea what you see in him.”

“That’s because you don’t SEE him. The real Ben.”

“All I see is a lying, weak, insufferable pathetic excuse of a man. THAT is the real Ben.” He sneered. 

“He’s twice the man you’ll ever be. He’d never sit there torturing someone for the fun of it.”

“You sure about that? Would t put it past him, probably has already. We could sit here arguing about this all day. I’ll never change my opinion about him, so there’s no point trying. Now, we’re sitting here having a nice little chat, but you don’t realise something.”

“What?”

“That your time is very slowly, probably feels really fast to Ben, ticking away.”

Keanu checked his watch, nodding to himself. 

“Nearly 22 hours left now.”

“For what?”

“For Ben to get me what I want. And if he fails, well, let’s just say this blade is gonna have way much more blood on it. Mainly on the floor. Flowing from your neck probably.”

“Your sick.” 

“I know, that’s what Ben said too! God, your made for each other. Saying the same things, you probably finish each other’s sentences too. I’m not asking for that much! Just ten grand in cash within 22 hours. It’s not that difficult for him is it? I’m sure he’s managed to get more, in less time before. Gave him til ten in the morning. Don’t worry, I’ll let him have a little lie in first.”

“Your not right in the head.”

“Are you gonna keep insulting me? Or am I going to have to use this gun again? Or knife? Whichever you choose.”

Callum said nothing, watching him stroking the blade, smiling at it. 

“Ben’s probably getting it together right now. Cos he will. I know he will. Your worth more than ten grand. Just depends on much your really worth, only ten? Maybe 20? Maybe even 50? But eventually he won’t be able to give me what I really want. He’ll run out of cash and then...” 

He lifted Callum’s chin up with the top of the knife, forcing him to to look at Keanu. 

“I’ll have you, to do what I please with. There’s no way he’s going to get a hundred grand. But I can try and get as much as possible first can’t I? Rinse him dry, then we’ll see what your really worth. And after? Then I’ll be able to take away the most precious thing that he’s got. Destroying him in the most painful way, just like he tried to destroy me, slowly ripping his heart out. Tearing away the most precious, thing he’s got in his life. Who’s that Callum?”

Callum said nothing, refusing to look at him. 

“Who’s...” He pressed the blade in a little harder. “That...” Drawing more blood from under his chin, but not quite deep enough to really harm him. 

Callum whined slightly, trying to snatch his head away, but not far enough. Keanu pressed the point of the knife into the wound instead. 

“Who’s the most precious thing to Ben?” He could feel the sharp point of the blade, dangerously close to his neck. 

“Me...” He whispered. 

“Wasn’t so hard was it? That’s what’s gonna hurt him the most and that’s exactly what I want him to feel. I can take YOU away from Ben...”


	9. Chapter 9

Ben walked aimlessly through the square desperately trying to think of a quick, easy way to get cash in such a short amount of time. 

“Did you find out what happened to Callum?” Whitney looked at Ben, ignoring her. 

“Ben?!”

“Err, yeah.” He wasn’t lying. He did know what had happened, kidnapped, taken away from him, probably being tortured just because Ben had crossed Keanu. 

“See, what did I say? He’ll be fine.” She smiled. 

“Yeah... he’ll be fine...”

Tell no one and Keanu wouldn’t hurt Callum any more than he already had. He blinked back his tears, walking away from Whitney, trying not to think about what Callum must be feeling like right now. How much pain he was in. Keanu hadn’t even made any guarantees that he wouldn’t hurt Callum if he told no one, he was probably hurting him anyway. 

He walked towards the direction of the flat wondering if Callum knew he was going to do everything to get him away from Keanu. He wouldn’t stop trying. Ever. 

He let himself into Callum’s flat, an idea playing over in his head, knowing Callum wouldn’t like it. 

He sat down on the sofa placing his phone in front of him, staring at the number on his phone, knowing he could easily get ten grand maybe more, if he were to use this way. 

Tubbs. Callum would hate it, knowing he’d been getting involved with him again. 

He picked it up, staring at it for a second longer before calling him. 

“This is the only way...” He whispered to wherever Callum was. 

He squeezed his eyes shut praying that Tubbs would pick up. 

“Tubbs! I need you get me something. A car. Or something else maybe. I just need something worth a lot.”

“Oh hello, Tubbs, how are you Tubbs? Oh, I haven’t from you in a while, Ben.”

“This isn’t funny! I need you to find me a car, expensive. Really expensive, top of the range. I need it now before it’s too late.”

“Too late for what? Didn’t think you were doing that dodgy stuff anymore?”

“Well I am! Can you get me one or not?”

“All right! No need to bite me head off. Probably can yeah?”

“Well do it then, drop it off at the Arches in a couple of hours.”

“Couple! I’m gonna need longer than that to nick a car!”

“Just do it, Tubbs!! I haven’t got time for messing around!”

“What’s the rush?”

“Will you do it or not?! I need this before tomorrow!”

“Yes! Any make?”

“I don’t care! As long as it’s worth a lot!”

“Fine! I’ll see what I can do.” He huffed, hanging up on him. 

Ben chucked his phone back on the side, struggling to breathe again. 

He needed to find Callum. He couldn’t just sit and wait for Tubbs, he needed to try and find Callum. He couldn’t be that far away, surely? He stood up, grabbing his phone and Callum’s car keys, determined to find him. He wouldn’t stop searching until he did.


	10. Chapter 10

Callum glanced at Keanu, pacing up and down, clutching onto the knife. 

“Do you think I should let him know how you are, if he delivers?”

“You said you would.” Callum wasn’t sure if he wanted Ben to see him like this anyway. 

“Didn’t swear on my life though did I? Your life however is still very much on the line...”

Callum closed his eyes, trying to distract himself from watching the knife. 

“What I want to know is, how would you prefer to die?”

Callum ignored him, trying loosen the pressure on his wrists. 

“Are you still struggling? I’ve already told you, you’ll never get out it. How long’s it been now then? ‘Fraid Ben’s only got ‘bout 8 hours to go.”

“And your gonna sit and watch me for the whole time?”

“Nope. I’ll have to go meet Ben somewhere. Not sure where yet. But you however are stuck here until I decide.”

“So why are you here now then?”

He walked over in front of Callum, grinning when he pushed himself into the back of the chair as soon as Keanu got close. 

“Cos it’s annoying you that I’m pacing. It’s amusing actually. It’s funny watching you, watching this.”

He stroked the blade gently up Callum’s neck, smirking when Callum tensed up. He strained his neck away from Keanu, but that just gave him better access, dragging it lightly from the bottom to the top, very slowly. 

“Lets just hope Ben can get what I want before I decide to do any... damage shall we say?” 

“Do it.” He hissed. “Kill me. At least Ben could get away from YOU.”

“Aah, but I need you alive for the time being to get Ben to do what I want. He won’t do it if your dead will he? Look at you trying to protect him, even though it’s his fault your here in the first place. Now do you think Ben would like a nice little image of you, or should we give him ring? Or a video chat?”

Callum said nothing, still aware of the knife pressed against his neck. 

“I reckon a nice little video chat would be good, he can see just what your feeling, see that... fear... written all over your face.”

“I’m not... scared of you.” He breathed out. 

“I think you should be.” He trailed the knife away from Callum’s neck down his arm, dragging it a little harder along his wrists, not enough to cut him, just below the rope, holding his hands down. It was already sore from where he’d been trying to get free, added with the pressure of the knife, it felt like they were burning. 

“Ben can see just how much pain you’ll be in if he doesn’t give me what I want. And you know what? He’ll be right on the other end of the phone to see it.”

He ran the knife down the inside of his hand instead pressing it down leaving a long trail of his blood, dripping from his palm onto the floor where Keanu had just cut him. 

Callum moaned to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“I reckon we could show Ben that, don’t you? A little treat for him if he doesn’t let me down.”

Callum said nothing, clenching his jaw, trying not to let Keanu know how much it hurt. Keanu took the knife away from Callum’s hand when his phone pinged. 

“Speak of the devil, Ben says he’s nearly got it. Turns out you are worth at least ten grand Callum.”

Callum breathed out slowly when Keanu chucked the knife on the table near him next to the gun. Ben managing to stop Keanu from hurting him anymore, even though he wasn’t here. 

“Right, think I’m gonna have to love ya and leave ya. Go pay your lovely boyfriend a visit. Don’t miss me too much will you?” He smiled. 

He took the knife and gun with him away from Callum as he left. 

As soon as the door locked, he tried even harder to get his wrists free, wincing as the rope burned him. 

“Come on! Why won’t you get any looser!”

He tried until he couldn’t take the pain anymore, letting his hand go slack, blood still dripping from his injured hand. He could still feel the cold of the blade running along his neck now.

“Argh! You bastard!”

Callum dropped his head back, closing his eyes, knowing it useless.


	11. Chapter 11

Ben had driven around the whole time he was waiting for Tubbs, trying to think of places Keanu would keep Callum, but with no luck getting no closer to finding him. 

He rested his head against the wheel, trying to think of other places where Keanu would take him.

“Come on! Thinkthinkthink!”

He shot his head back up when his phone pinged, thinking it might be Keanu, but reading Tubbs.

‘Where are you? At the Arches. Got it.’

Ben began to drive, stopping again suddenly, sending a text to Keanu. 

‘Nearly got it. Don’t even touch him.’

He’d never been so desperate to hear his phone ring with a message. Keanu ignored him anyway, Ben groaning to himself, just knowing he’d already hurt him. 

“I’m so sorry, Cal...” He whispered. 

“I’ve got this. This is the best I could do.” Tubbs told him. 

“You didn’t sell it?!” 

“You never asked me too!”

“Argh! TUBBS!! I’ve got like two hours to sell this!!”

“Well, sorry but you asked me to find one, not sell it! Why have you only got two hours left?!”

“It doesn’t matter! Just SELL it! PRONTO!”

“To who?!”

“I DON’T CARE!! Sell. It.”

“Okay!” 

Tubbs flicked through his phone making calls, glaring at Ben whilst he was doing it. 

“Hurry up!” He mouthed to Tubbs. 

“I am!” He mouthed back, still glaring at him. 

Ben was on him before he’d even ended the call. 

“Well? What’s it worth? Will they pay in cash? Cos I need cash not anything else.”

“Calm down!”

“I can’t! Just tell me!”

“Okay, okay! It’s worth around 30-“

“Grand? Yes, Tubbs! You genius!”

“But there’s a catch...”

“What?!” 

“They’re only willing to pay 15 if it’s in cash...”

“15??!! Argh!” Ben sank down in the chair, burying his head in his hands. 

He knew he’d need to find at least 75 grand more if he had 15, if he had any chance of keeping Callum alive. 

“Fine...” He whispered. “Just do it... I’ll take that for now.”

“Sure, cos this beauty is worth a few bob? Defo not 15.” 

“Just take it and bring the cash straight back to me within the hour, I haven’t got much time.”

“Your in trouble aren’t you? It’s your loss...”

“Trust me it will be if I don’t get this cash now.”

“Fifteen.” Tubbs muttered to himself shaking his head as he grabbed the car keys and walked off. “What a rip off...”

Ben stood pacing for nearly half an hour, constantly checking his watch. He looked up expecting Tubbs, when Keanu sauntered into the Arches. 

“Sooo, where’s my cash?” He grinned.


	12. Chapter 12

“Nonono! I’ve still got an hour left! You don’t get to do this to me!”

“Don’t I?”

“Please. Just give me the hour and you’ll get the money!”

Keanu smirked to himself, sitting down in the chair, spinning himself around slowly. 

“Ben Mitchell, reduced to begging. I gotta say, it doesn’t look good on you.”

“I’m begging for Callum! This isn’t his fault, just let him go!”

“Aah, but it’s YOUR fault.”

“Precisely! If you want to keep hurting me, hurt me, just leave Callum alone...”

“So it is hurting you? Good to know.”

“Please, I just need one more hour.“

“I’ll give you the hour, cos I’m feeling generous but Callum is staying put, let’s just say he’s a little worse for wear right now...”

Ben took a step towards Keanu glaring at him, but he quickly darted out of the chair away from Ben. 

“Your boyfriend is quite the feisty one, you know. He’s tougher than he looks. Giving me evils he was. Being sarky. He even had the cheek to tell me to leave you alone.”

Ben stopped pacing looking at Keanu. Callum would put himself in danger just to protect him, even though all of this was his fault. 

“I mean, why would I ‘leave you alone’ just cos he’s said so?”

“Because he’s a good person. It’s me you want, so have me instead.”

Keanu ignored him, carrying on anyway.

“He’s quite stupid really.”

“Callum is not stupid...” He hissed. 

“He came willingly didn’t he? I’d say that’s stupid.”

“That’s because you were threatening to go for a child! MY DAUGHTER! Callum wouldn’t let you hurt her. He only came to protect her!”

“Now, this is why he’s stupid. I’m not gonna take Lexi. I never was! Had to get him to come willingly somehow, so I thought Lexi was the perfect... bribe.”

“YOU BASTARD! He would have fought back, if you hadn’t used her! He’d never have come!”

“Well, I had to get him to come with me somehow. How was I gonna get his 8ft of legs to where I wanted all by myself!”

“You lied to him!”

“So what? You’ve been lying for months.”

“Callum was never involved in any this, just let him go!”

“Why are you still begging? I’m not gonna let him go cos you asked nicely. I’m surprised your still here, thought you’d be trying to scrape the cash together. You do realise you’ve only got half an hour left.”

“I’m waiting for Tubbs...”

“So you told someone? What did I say? You tell someone, Callum gets hurt.”

“No! Don’t do that! Tubbs doesn’t know why! I just told him to sell me a car and give me the cash!”

“You can’t keep selling dodgy cars for what I want.” He smiled. 

“I’m getting it, okay! Just don’t hurt Callum, please...”

“What if I already have?” 

Ben glared at Keanu shoving him against the car, bending him over the bonnet. 

“If you’ve touched him, I’ll kill you myself. You are a twisted bastard.”

Keanu smiled at him, finding it amusing. 

“Is that any way to talk to the person who’s kindly keeping your boyfriend alive?”

Ben glared at him for a second longer shoving him away. He knew Keanu was right, if he had any chance of finding Callum, he needed Keanu. 

“Now, do you want an update or not? You need to be a good boy, if you want me to tell you. I could just go and take him away from you forever, right now...”

“No! Don’t! Just tell me.”

Keanu raised his eyes, waiting. 

“Please...” Ben whispered.

“That’s better.” He smirked. He took something out of his pocket, wrapped in a towel. 

“I’ve had quite a bit of fun with this you know.”

He unwrapped it, Ben staring at the blood covered knife.

“That’s not his. Your lying.” Trying to convince himself.

“I’m afraid it is. Not mine is it? I’ve not got a scratch on me, Callum however...”

“You said you wouldn’t touch him!” Ben took a step towards Keanu, but stopped when he pointed it at him. 

“A, a, a! Do you want to add to his blood on this knife?”

Ben stopped himself from walking any further, watching some of the blood dripping off it, not even dried yet so he must have hurt Callum recently. 

“I never said I wouldn’t hurt him, just that I’m keeping him alive until you get me what I want.”

“I’m getting it!”

“It’s all good though, he’s getting weaker by the minute. He won’t be able to be sarky with me soon...”

Ben sank down in the chair, Keanu grinning at him, still standing by the car.

“How much was that car worth then? The one your getting Tubbs to sell, can’t even be bothered to do it yourself...”

“15...” Ben tried not to think of Callum getting weaker, what Keanu was doing to him, stuck somewhere, probably in so much pain, tired, hungry and alone...

“Good, I’ll have all it, that can be interest.”

“Interest?! You said a hundred grand, not any more!”

“Well, I’ve changed my mind. If Tubbs gets here in time, I’ll take that as 10 you’ve paid. I still want 90 grand more.”

“But I’ll have given you an extra 5!”

“It’s interest, Ben! Keep up, I’ve just explained this.” 

He raised the knife again, pointing the knife at Ben. “If you ever want to see your precious boyfriend again, you’ll get me the money...”

“Okay! I’ll find it! Just please, don’t hurt him anymore...”

“Pretty boy like you, I’m sure you’ve got the brains to find it somehow...”

They both looked up when Tubbs walked back in looking from Ben to Keanu. 

Ben looked at Tubbs with nothing in his hands. 

“Please tell me you’ve got the cash, Tubbs...” Ben asked.


	13. Chapter 13

Ben stood up, scanning Tubbs. 

“Have you got it all?!”

“Calm down!”

“Have. You. Got. My. Money??” Ben asked again. 

“Now, now Ben. I think you’ll find that’s MY money.” Keanu smiled. 

Tubbs glanced at Ben. Ben nodding once to him, letting him know it was okay. 

Keanu snatched it from Tubbs, as soon as he took a brown envelope out of the inside of his coat. 

“It’s all there. 15.” Tubbs told him as Keanu flicked through it briefly. 

“You did cut it fine, Tubbs, only had five minutes left. You’ve just extended someone’s life, without even knowing it.”

“Eh?” Tubbs looked at Ben, confused, Keanu ignoring him. 

“You can’t keep relying on other people to clear up your mess, Ben. This is YOUR mess, sort it yourself next time. I’ll be in touch.” Keanu added to Ben walking away. 

“Wait!”

Keanu slowed down but didn’t turn around. 

“Please, tell me how he is?”

“Might give you a video chat later, depends how I’m feeling, or if Callum stops being rude to me. Might let you say hello. Or maybe a lovely little heartfelt goodbye. That will be emotional to watch. I’ll make sure I’ve got me tissues ready.” He chuckled, carrying on walking, as Ben sank down into the chair. 

“What was that about?” Tubbs asked. “What you got to pay ‘im for? I’ve heard he’s meant to be dead?”

“He was...” Ben whispered. 

“I can’t keep nicking cars for you, Ben, at such short notice. I’m not getting sent to prison for not covering my tracks properly.”

“I know... Thanks anyway.”

Tubbs shook his head at Ben, walking off too, not wanting to get involved, now idea what was happening. 

He’d only been sitting there for five minutes before Keanu sent him a message. 

‘I want the rest. NINTY. By this time next week or Callum won’t be here much longer...’

‘I need longer. You can’t keep him for a week!’

‘Yes I can and I am. That’s all the time your getting. If you want Callum back in one piece, you’ll get it to me quicker. The longer you leave it, the more pain you’ll be making Callum feel.”

Ben groaned, throwing his phone across the room, hearing it shatter. 

He sank to the floor burying his head in his hands sobbing to himself.

“Ben?!” Jay shot over to Ben, sinking to the floor next to him. “What’s wrong?!”

He ignored him, crying even harder, whining to himself. 

“Ben, come on, whatever it is, surely it can’t be that bad?”

“Callum’s gone!” He moaned. 

“Gone? Gone where??”

“I don’t know! I’ve lost him, Jay! I’ve lost him, just like before!!!”

“Ben just calm down, I’m sure Callum’s okay, wherever he’s gone.”

“He’s not just left! Keanu’s TAKEN him!” 

“Keanu?! I thought...”

“HE WAS!! But now he’s taken Callum to get back at me!”

“Where?!”

“IF I KNEW THAT, I WOULDN’T BE HERE!”

“Okay! What does he want?”

“Money. A hundred grand or he’s gonna hurt him even more...”

“Hundred!! Where are you gonna get that from?!”

“I don’t know!” He whined. “But I need to find it fast or he’ll kill Callum!!”

“He’s already hurt him?! How do you know that, if you don’t know where he is?”

“He showed me a knife... With Callum’s blood on it!”

“I’m so sorry, Ben...”

Ben looked up glaring at him. 

“Your sorry?! He’s not dead yet, you know!”

“I never meant it like that!”

“Sounded like it to me! Just leave me alone, Jay, I can do this on my own!”

“No you can’t, I’m not leaving you. I’ll help you find him.”

Ben stood up, marching towards the door. 

“Don’t you think I’ve tried! I’ve looked EVERYWHERE! Just leave. Me. Alone, Jay! I need to find more money, fast. I should never have told you!”

“Ben!” Jay stood up rushing to the door, looking around, but Ben had already disappeared.


	14. Chapter 14

Callum looked up when Keanu walked back in, looking pleased with himself. 

He strolled over chucking the money on the side, turning to Callum. 

“Turns out, your worth at least 15 grand.” 

He turned Callum’s hand round with the knife, looking at his palm, not quite stopping bleeding yet.

“Looks sore that. Does it hurt?”

Callum said nothing, refusing to look at Keanu. 

He turned Callum’s head towards him with the side of the knife, the cold of it seeping through him, making him shiver. 

“Don’t ignore me...” He warned but turned around anyway, chucking the money on the side. 

“He’s given you what you want so leave him alone.”

“He hasn’t though. This is only part of what I want. This is 15 grand. I want hundred.”

“A hundred grand?! Are you insane?! He’s never gonna be able to get that!”

Keanu turned back around smiling at Callum. 

“I know...”

“So your just setting him up to fail! He’s probably out there, trying to get more when you have no intention of letting me go. Even if he gave you two hundred grand, you still wouldn’t let me go!”

“Clever boy, Halfway. Who ever called you Halfway, your quite the intelligent one aren’t you?” He smirked.

“Your just toying with him, until you decide to throw him away.”

“That’s the plan. But I’ll have to throw YOU away first, to make Ben really feel some pain.”

Callum looked at his hand, only just stopping bleeding, trying to wriggle his hand free, when Keanu turned around again, counting the money. 

“Still not gonna work, I’ll just keep tightening ‘em again, even tighter than the first time.” He told him, not turning around. 

“If you want me to die now, your gonna have...” He tugged his hand even harder, the rope digging in deeper. “To...” He tried again, trying to release the pressure but it just burned him. “Loosen. It...”

Keanu sighed, rolling his eyes, spinning around, pointing the knife at Callum, barely missing his neck.

“Scared now? You insisted you weren’t earlier.” He grinned watching as Callum tried to strain his neck away from Keanu. 

“No...”

“How about... now?” He pressed it against him harder. 

Callum nodded ever so slightly, aware of the knife. It could have so easily sliced his neck if he nodded too fast.

“Are you scared?”

Callum nodded slowly again, feeling the blade scrape against his neck a little more. 

Keanu smirked at him, taking it away just as fast, cutting some of the rope with the knife. He glared at Callum when he sighed with relief, his wrists feeling less pressure. 

“Don’t want you dying on me. I need you alive. When do you reckon we should give your lovely boyfriend a little FaceTime?”

“I don’t want to...” He knew Ben would break if he saw him like this. 

“That’s settles it then, we’ll do it later.”

Keanu walked over to him pressing the knife along the cut he made on his cheek earlier, opening it up again, making Callum moan. He could feel the blood starting to slowly trickle down his face again.

“Need to make you look a little more... desperate, so Ben’ll co-operate faster.”

“He’s getting the money isn’t he? Why do you need to make him suffer?”

Keanu snorted to himself, pressing the knife deeper, Callum whining.

“Did you really just ask that? Of course I want him to suffer, I lost everything because of him and now...” He dragged the blade down his face a little harder making the blood flow faster. “I’m gonna make sure Ben loses everything too.” He smiled. 

He picked up Callum’s phone from the side, smiling at Callum shaking in the chair. 

He scrolled through Callum’s photos, showing them to Callum. 

“Arr, you do look happy in this one.”

Callum looked at it longingly, a picture of him and Ben in E20. He’d only taken it a couple of weeks ago. Callum scrunching his nose up, smiling widely as Ben kissed his cheek, grinning at him cupping the other side of his face, pulling him closer. 

“Now those are definitely cringy.” Turning the phone to show him again. 

It was from when they were at the park with Lexi. She’d managed to get hold of Ben’s phone, without him knowing, taking a series of photos of the two of them. They were holding hands, Ben smiling up at Callum, their faces so close together. The sun shining behind them. Another as Callum rested his forehead against Ben’s, both closing their eyes and smiling, enjoying the normality of the moment. Before Keanu took it all away. Another of Ben reaching up and kissing Callum softly, his hand on the side of Callum’s face, still holding his other down by their sides, interlocking their fingers together. He’d told Lexi she should be a photographer, making her demand he buy her camera. 

“Argh, that one just makes feel a little queasy.”

Callum glared at Keanu, as he showed him another one. Callum grinning and trying to pull the cover over his head, in bed, Ben laughing at him as he’d tried to kiss him and take a photo of them both. Callum looked at Ben’s eyes in the photo, shining because they were both finally happy. 

‘Come on, Cal, just one photo.”

“No! I’ve got bed hair!’ He’d pulled the cover further up the bed to his shoulders. 

‘Arr, but I love it like that!’

‘I don’t! It’s all...’

‘Soft and shiny?’

‘No! All, flat and messy!’

‘Pleeeaase. Just one!’

‘No! Ben, I swear if you take one, I will delete it and then I will kill you.’

‘That’s a risk, I’m willing to take.’

He’d pulled the duvet up to eyes, Ben taking a photo of them both anyway, laughing at Callum peeking out from under the cover, his eyes shining anyway. Course he’d never deleted it. Ben looked so happy, his smile reaching his eyes. How ironic, just a few days later, it was Callum at risk of getting killed instead. 

‘It’s a good job, I love you’ Callum huffed. Ben laughing at his grumpy look in his face. 

He didn’t even care that Ben never said it back. He’d wait. He’d always wait for Ben, just as he was now. He knew Ben was scared of saying it out loud, but deep down he knew Ben loved him back. Ben had grinned at him, sliding on top of him, abandoning his mission, leaving the phone on the bed. Ben had kissed him over and over, both of them, lying together for hours, kissing each other lazily and slowly. They didn’t need to be intense and fast all the time, they could just slow down and really feel each other. He hadn’t felt so at home with anyone in his life, truly feeling like he belonged to Ben. 

Callum looked up when the phone started buzzing, disrupting him from his thoughts. 

“What are you doing?!”

“FaceTime. Ben. He wants to see you, so I’ll show him.” Keanu smiled at him, knowing full well Callum didn’t want Ben to see him, the blood still flowing down his face, stinging his other cut in his neck. 

“No, please. Stop, he doesn’t need to see me, I can wait! I’ll wait til he gets you the money, you promised him you’d let me go!”

“Did I?” He smirked. Keanu looked back at the phone, waiting for Ben to pick up.


	15. Chapter 15

Callum prayed that Ben wouldn’t pick up but he did practically two seconds after Keanu started ringing. 

“Aah, Ben! Have you been getting my money?”

“Course I am! Where’s Callum?”

“He’s right here, but it seems your lovely boyfriend doesn’t want to see you. Tried to convince me not to call you.”

“That’s probably because you’ve hurt him!” Ben knew Callum wouldn’t just not want to see him. 

Keanu placed the phone on the side, standing behind Callum. 

“Callum...” Keanu grinned at Ben looking at Callum, Ben looking scared too. He looked up at Keanu, glaring at him. “What have you done to him?!”

Been scanned Callum’s face. A large cut along his cheek, bleeding slowly down his neck, more cuts underneath his chin. It looked like Keanu had hit him with something too, more blood, drying down the side of his face. 

“I think you can see for yourself, really.” 

He stroked the blade along Callum’s neck from behind him, Callum immediately tensing, making himself so still.

“Don’t you even dare...” Ben watched Callum, squeezing his eyes shut, shaking slightly. He looked terrified. 

“I will do it, you know I would. If you don’t get me my money.”

“I said I’m getting it! I need more time! Just stop!”

Callum wouldn’t look at him, instead closing his eyes, looking to the side. Keanu smiled at Ben, taking the knife away again. 

“Callum please, look at me.”

Callum shook his head slowly, he couldn’t. He couldn’t look at Ben not when he knew he’d see the fear in Ben’s eyes, from seeing what Keanu had done to him. 

“Please...” Ben tried again. 

Callum hesitated for a few more seconds before finally looking at Ben. 

“I’m so sorry, Cal...” He whispered. 

“He wouldn’t be here if you’d not tried to kill me.” Keanu told him. 

Ben ignored him, not looking away from Callum. 

“You don’t deserve any of this. I AM going to get you out of there.”

“Don’t...” Callum whispered. 

“Don’t what? Course I’m gonna try and get you away from HIM.” He glared at Keanu, looking back at Callum.

“Just stop trying to save me...”

“What?! Why?! He can’t keep you forever!”

“Seems Callum’s grown rather fond of me and our little chats.” Keanu smiled. 

“He’s never gonna let me go, no matter how much money you get...”

“I wouldn’t say anything else, if I were you, Callum.” Keanu warned. 

“No, he said he’d let you go, if I paid! And I will, Callum, I’ll give him whatever he wants, if it means your safe. And right now, your not, but I’m gonna help you!”

“He told me himself, Ben... I’m never gonna get out here, you could pay two hundred grand and he wouldn’t tell you where we are...”

“He what?! YOU BASTARD!” He aimed at Keanu, before looking back at Callum. “I’ll still find you! I won’t ever stop looking!”

“I don’t think you should be saying things like that...” Keanu hissed. He pulled Callum’s head up, pressing the knife right against his neck. “That was meant to be our little secret.” 

“Leave him! This isn’t his fault, he hasn’t done anything wrong! Please! Your hurting him! 

“Just don’t give him any more money...” Callum whispered. 

Keanu pressed it even harder, making Callum moan, as he drew a small cut along his neck, slowly starting to bleed. 

“KEANU!! Please, I’ll still get you the money, just stop hurting him!”

Callum whined to himself, squeezing his eyes shut again, waiting for Keanu to cut him deep enough to do enough damage. 

“I swear, I’ll get you the rest!” Ben told him. 

He dropped Callum’s head, taking the pressure away from his neck, leaving a long cut along his neck instead, not deep enough to really harm him. 

“Good. Cos if you don’t, I might accidentally slip next time.”

Callum locked eyes with Ben, when Keanu stepped next to him. He shook his head his head at Ben, pleading for him to listen to him and not give Keanu what he wanted. They looked at each other for a second longer, before Keanu ended the call. 

“Well, wasn’t that lovely?” Keanu smiled. “We should all do it again some time. Might get a bit lively next time.” He chuckled to himself, loving every moment of it.

Keanu put his hand under Callum’s chin, forcing his head up again, looking at his neck, the blood still dribbling from it. “Oo, a little more pressure and it would have all been over. I’d love for Ben to see that.”


	16. Chapter 16

“Nononono!” He chucked his phone on the side, when Keanu ended the call. Callum looked so terrified but he saw the way he was shaking his head at him, pleading with him not to give Keanu any more money even though he’d put himself in even more danger if Ben didn’t pay up. 

Ben paced around trying to work out what to do. Torn over who to listen to. Keanu wanted the money or he’d kill Callum. Callum didn’t want him to get the money, because Keanu told him he wasn’t ever going to let him go anyway. 

He would never just leave Callum with Keanu. He’d find him somehow. 

Ben let himself into Phil’s, taking out all the paper work for the car lot, the Arches and Phil’s bank account, spreading them all across the table. 

“Come on! There must be some money here somewhere!” 

Ben grabbed his phone ringing Martin, not answering so he left a voicemail. 

“Ring me! YOU have messed up big time, now Keanu’s kidnapped Callum!! And you can help clear this mess up! He wants 100 grand and I ain’t paying all that myself when YOU should have done as I said in the first place. If Keanu kills Callum, I will find you next and kill you myself! None of this would have happened if you’d just... argh, just Call. Me!’

He chucked his phone on the side, checking every piece of paper, scattering them across the table. The savings for the car lot and the Arches weren’t enough for how much Keanu wanted. Until he struck gold with Phil’s bank account.

“Yes!” He picked up a sheet looking at the available balance. Another 30 grand. He dropped it back down by his side, looking at a photo of Phil and Louise on the side, looking back at the 30 grand on the sheet again. 

He sighed to himself letting it float back down onto the top, sitting down at the table, looking at the Arches instead. He could take as much as he liked from there, he owned it, so he could whatever he wanted. There wasn’t a lot but it was something, a couple of grand at the most. 

Ben groaned resting his head on the table, lifting back up just as quickly, making his mind up quickly, looking at Phil’s bank account again. 

“I’m sorry, Dad, but I’ve got to do this for Cal...”

He stood up looking for the laptop, grabbing it and logging in to Phil’s account, throwing himself back down into the chair. Most of it was from his dodgy deals from Spain anyway, that’s why there so much in there. 

He sat staring at the screen for a while, trying to not feel so guilty, images of Callum looking terrified and hurt flooding his mind. It just made him even more determined, transferring it all into a separate bank. The whole lot. Around 32 grand. He took another 5 grand from the Arches too. 

Ben sighed to himself, still not even halfway, to getting Keanu all of the hundred, not even including the ‘interest’ that Keanu added. 

He looked up when Kathy walked in. 

“What you doing?” She asked. 

“Erm, checking the accounts for the Arches. Still can’t run it into the ground, now Dad’s gone. He’ll be fuming.” He laughed nervously. 

“Don’t lie to me, Ben.”

“Lie? About what?”

“Voicemail? That weren’t meant for me was it?”

“What?!” 

Ben grabbed his phone checking the last call he made, sure enough he’d left it to ‘Mum’ just below ‘Martin’. He was panicking that much he’d rung Kathy instead. 

“Argh! You weren’t supposed to get that!”

“I knew it was a bit weird. I know I’m not always your favourite, but you’ve never threatened to kill me! So what’s this about Keanu taking Callum? And you trying to kill someone yourself?”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I read somewhere, it was a paper mill, that Callum was at?? No idea if that’s true, but I’m going with it!

“I knew that message wasn’t for me. So? Don’t just sit there staring at me, trying to come up with an excuse. What have you got Callum involved in? And Keanu? He’s back? And what’s this about hundred grand for Callum? Don’t even get me started on you trying to kill someone, cos that’s not gonna happen.”

Ben was desperately trying to think of an excuse whilst Kathy ranted to him. 

She walked over to the table, scanning all the paperwork strewn across it. 

“You haven’t been taking money out of the business accounts have you?”

Ben groaned, throwing himself down onto the sofa. He rolled his eyes when Kathy sat next to him, waiting for an answer. 

“It’s fine, Mum, I can do this on my own...”

“You don’t look fine. You look shattered. Not to mention you being jumpy all the time. You’ve been practically running around lately, like you’ve got hell after you.”

Ben looked at her, sighing to himself, she would never believe him if he lied. 

“Don’t think I’ve not noticed all that, what I’ve just said. I’m your Mum.” She smiled. “Just tell me what’s wrong, I might be able to help.”

“You can’t...” He looked down at his lap, wringing his hands together. 

She cupped his chin, turning his head gently to look at her. 

“Telling me might help...”

He looked at her for a second longer, before finally speaking. 

“Keanu...” He trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut, seeing Callum with the knife against his neck. 

“What about him?”

“He’s taken Callum, to get back at me...”

“Taken him? Where?”

“I don’t know!” He whined. “He told me if I don’t get him a hundred grand, he’s gonna kill Callum!”

“Kill him?! Surely he wouldn’t do that!” 

“He would do it! I know he would. But I don’t know where I’m gonna get the money from! I’ve already given him ten grand yesterday to stop him from hurting Callum, but he’s hurting him anyway!” 

Ben buried his head in his hands, sobbing to himself. 

“I can’t lose him, Mum!” Kathy pulled Ben to her, stroking his hair as he cried. 

“Why would he just take him?”

“Revenge! He knows Callum means everything to me, so he took him, so I’d pay up. I can’t! I haven’t got enough and he’s gonna kill him!”

“And who was it you said your were gonna find and kill? Who the voicemail was meant for?”

“Martin...” 

He sat back up, wiping his eyes. 

“Martin? What’s he got to do with all this?”

“Dad wanted him gone...”

“Gone gone? As in...”

Ben nodded, looking at Kathy’s horrified face.

“He wanted me to ‘sort it’.”

“He’s your father! How can he ask you to go and kill someone?!”

“He was still angry cos of the affair and wanted to get rid of him.“

“I get angry sometimes! It doesn’t mean I’m gonna go round attempting to kill people! He should never have got you involved in all of this! It was his problem, he can’t keep dragging you into doing all his dirty work. Your his son for crying out loud! You just wait til I get a hold of Phil, I’m gonna be having some serious words with him!”

“I couldn’t have the risk of the police finding out and me getting sent to prison again, so I told Martin to do it...”

“Ben...”

“I know! It was a bad idea, but it was the only one I had, at the time!”

“Well, at least Martin didn’t do it.”

“Martin sent Keanu away instead, but now he’s come back to get revenge because of what I did. And now Callum’s still in danger because of me...”

“You didn’t do anything though, you hear me?” She pulled Ben to her again, trying to support him. 

“I can’t lose another person, I-“

“Hey! Paul wasn’t your fault either!” Interrupting him quickly. 

“Wasn’t it?”

“It could have happened to anyone, Ben. It could have been YOU that died. But your still here.”

“Here, but putting Callum’s life in danger too...”

“Is that why you’ve got all these out?” Nodding to the paper scattered all over the table. 

“I took all Dad’s money...”

“Well, your just gonna have to hope he doesn’t find out then, aren’t you?”

Ben frowned at her. “Why you being so calm? I thought you’d have a go cos I nicked Dad’s money?”

“Well, he’s not here to help get Callum back is he?” 

Ben smiled at her, hugging her again. “Thanks.”

“You best get all those sheets cleared up, though. It looks like a bomb has gone off in here.” 

Ben smiled at her, standing up. 

“I sort of just threw ‘em everywhere, trying to find something I could give to Keanu.”

“Why should you pay him though?”

“Cos he’ll hurt Cal, otherwise.”

“I don’t think this is the way though, Ben...”

“It’s the only option I’ve got right now. Keep him sweet until I come up with another plan.”

She still looked unsure. 

“You clear them up and I’ll make you a cup a coffee. I know you want to do something, but I think you need to just stop and slow down for a minute.”

Ben nodded, looking back at the table. 

She picked up a piece of paper from the floor, leaving iton the table. “Look at all this paper, and most of the money’s dodgy!” She tutted, still annoyed at Phil. “All this paper...”

Ben stopped looking at the paper, then back at Kathy back to the paper again. 

“Paper...”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Paper!”

“Ben?”

“PAPER! There was paper! Big stacks of paper behind Callum in the video chat! And rolls of something else!” 

“What are you on about? Rolls? Video chats?”

Ben spun round facing Kathy, grinning at her. 

“Where around here supply’s paper or something papery or bloody trees??!!”

“Your making no sense, Ben!”

“It could be like some old paper mill or something.”

“Ben!”

He wasn’t really listening, looking back at the paperwork like they’d tell him the answer. 

“It’s not in use anymore, cos it’s looked dark and dusty, abandoned.” He said to himself. “Seriously, Ben, what is this about paper?”

“Mum! Your a genius!”

“What did I do?”

“I need to find where a paper mill place is!”

“Why??!!”

“To find Callum!!! If I find that warehouse, Callum will be there!”

“Ben! You can’t just go charging round there!”

“Thanks, Mum, your a star!”

He kissed her cheek, grabbed his phone and dashed out the front door.

“Ben! I thought you were meant to be slowing down!”

She shook her head still confused.


	18. Chapter 18

Ben ran across the square to Callum’s flat, letting himself in, still having the key, Stuart gave him. 

He took out Callum’s laptop, googling everything possible.   
Papermills. Paper Warehouses. Paper supply’s. Paper mills, not in use anymore. Old paper supply’s. All in and around Walford. 

He came to Callum’s flat instead, knowing that Kathy would try and stop him if she knew what he was trying to do. 

“Come on! There must be something here somewhere!”

He checked every page on every site, trying to work out where Callum was. 

He stopped suddenly, sitting back, staring at the screen. 

“Supply’s paper to local businesses...” He scanned the page reading odd bits. “Sheets, rolls and books, whatever you need!” He looked at the address too. “Yes! Not far from Walford! And it’s shut down... years ago!! Yes, Cal, you’ve got to be there!”

He dashed back out the front door, determined to find Callum, checking the address again. He must have been about half an hour away. 

He drove quickly, looking around outside carefully when he got there. It did look abandoned the front door open slightly. He walked round the back, presuming Keanu must be there if the door was open or he’d got the wrong warehouse completely. Finding another door to go through from the back, he walked through some corridors for a bit, stopping when he heard voices, unmistakably Callum’s voice but still not seeing them. 

“Now, do you think Ben would like to see you, alive or dead?”

“What do you think?” 

“Well, clearly he wants you alive, but I reckon I should let him have you back dead.”

“Do it!” He hissed. “At least Ben wouldn’t have to keeping listening to YOU, he wouldn’t have to do what you wanted.”

“You were the one who didn’t want to have a little video chat. Have you grown bored of him already?”

“Course not! Your sick! You know it kills Ben to see me like this. That’s why you did it anyway, to see him hurting too! Why’d do you think I didn’t want to see him?!”

Ben rounded the corner, shooting back round again out of sight, when he spotted Keanu, walking round Callum, circling around him like Callum was his prey. 

“You are clever sometimes you know. And why do you think I called him anyway?”

Ben restrained himself from, going in there, gripping onto a railing in front of him. He was gonna kill Keanu when he had the chance. He knew he couldn’t go in there now, knowing Keanu still had the knife. He’d put Callum in even more danger. 

“Cos your twisted and like causing people misery.”

“That’s where your wrong. I don’t like causing just anyone misery, just your lovely boyfriend.”

“Stop saying that...”

“Saying what? Your lovely boyfriend? Oo, you don’t think it’s true? Now that’s something I’m gonna have to tell... your lovely boyfriend when we give him a little call again.”

“You don’t care about anyone but yourself. Tell him that then. He won’t believe you anyway, he knows I love him.”

“Arr, isn’t that sweet. Bet he hasn’t said it back yet. That’s because he doesn’t love you, or anyone. He only loves himself.”

Callum said nothing. 

“I’m right aren’t I?! He hasn’t said it? Ah, Ben is so predictable.”

“Leave him alone...”

“You know sometimes I think Callum you clever boy, then you say something really stupid, living up to your other name, Halfway. Why would I leave him alone? I want him to suffer. You should too. YOUR here because of HIM.”

“Your deluded! Not right in the head! Keeping me just to make Ben hurt! Course I don’t want him to suffer. Your a sick, twisted bastard!”

Ben sank to the floor, squeezing his eyes shut, when Callum whined, presumably from Keanu hurting him again. 

“You need to stop being so rude to me. Or you’ll be feeling a lot worse and a lot more pain than your already feeling.”

“You can hurt me all you like, I’ll still hate you.”

Ben stood back up, so close to going in there when he heard Callum moan again. 

“Oo, I’m pained. I thought you rather enjoyed my company, we’ve been getting on so well. Now, Ben on the other hand. I LOATHE him.”

“Like he cares what you think.”

“He cares what I’m thinking about a lot actually. He wants to know what I’m thinking. Will I hurt you? Will I kill you? It’s amusing seeing him so terrified for your pathetic life. Doing just I say, so he can try save you.”

“If he had any sense, he’d leave me here, so he doesn’t have to associate with YOU!”

Keanu laughed, making Ben shiver. 

“You think he’s gonna leave you? I bet he’s trying to get the cash together right now, to keep you alive for just that little bit longer. But soon he’ll run out of cash and you’ll run out of any hope of getting out here alive.”

Ben looked round the corner again, watching Keanu wrap the knife up in the towel again, putting it in his pocket. 

“I’ll take this with me, don’t want you trying to get it and get out. Right now, I’ve git better things to be doing then spending my time here with you. But I’ll be back in about half an hour to make sure you’ve not tried anything to escape.”

“I’ll still be here.” Callum smiled sarcastically. 

“Good.”

Ben watched Keanu disappear, locking the front door again. He quickly darted round the corridors he’d taken, back outside, watching Keanu leave with the biggest smile in his face, looking pleased with himself. 

“Oh, you won’t be looking like that soon...”


	19. Chapter 19

Ben waited for a while, making sure Keanu didn’t come back, before spinning around, darting round the back from where he’d first gone in, taking the same route to get to Callum. 

Callum looked up, when he heard him, his eyes lighting up when he realised it was Ben. 

“Ben! What are you doing here, if Keanu finds you he’ll kill you?!”

He rushed over to Callum quickly anyway. 

“I need to get you out of here.”

He kissed the top of Callum’s hair, then kissing his forehead, before kneeling down next him, kissing his mouth too, over and over, his tears slipping down his face so glad to finally see him, properly.

He rested his forehead against Callum’s, closing his eyes. 

“How did you find me?”

“The video chat thingy. Kathy mentioned something about paper and it just clicked. I remembered the background and I started looking for you as soon as, I noticed.”

“I didn’t think I was ever gonna see you again...” Callum whispered. He leaned forward, kissing Ben’s lips again softly, kissing him lightly multiple times, leaving his mouth on Ben’s for a while longer, not wanting to let go. 

“I wasn’t ever gonna let that happen.” 

Ben kissed his lips again pulling back to look at him. 

“I’m so sorry...” He whispered. 

“Don’t be, but please don’t let Keanu know you’ve found me. He’ll see your car or something.”

“I left the car about twenty minutes away and walked the rest.”

“You can’t stay long...”

“I’ll get you out of here, before he comes back.”

“You can’t. You won’t be able to get these off in time, he’ll be back soon.” Ben looked down at Callum’s hand tied firmly to the chair. He turned Callum’s hand around gently, looking at the deep cut in his hand, bleeding again, from Keanu hurting him moments before. 

“Hey, don’t cry.” Callum told him. 

“He’s hurt you so much, because of me...”

“You didn’t ask for any of this. You didn’t know he was gonna come back from the dead and take me did you?”

“But if I’d have just let Phil deal with it at Christmas...”

“He’d have still come back for you, because your Phil’s son. You’d have been the next best thing now Phil’s gone.”

Ben ran his finger gently over the cut in Callum’s cheek, making him wince. 

“Sorry... Just look at what he’s done to you... They all need looking at, you’ll be getting them all infected if you leave them.”

“I’m fine, please just go or you won’t be! He can’t find you here.”

“I’m not leaving you again.”

“Your gonna have to. Cos right now Keanu’s probably on his way back and he’ll find you here, he WILL kill you.”

“This is all my fault...” He turned Callum’s head to the side, looking at it, from where Keanu had hit him with the gun.

“What did he do there?”

“Knocked me out didn’t he?”

Callum looked at Ben, seething. 

“This isn’t your fault Ben.”

“But it is! He wouldn’t have taken you if he didn’t want to get at me!”

“Maybe, but we both thought he was gone, this isn’t your fault this time. I’m not gonna be angry at you, if that’s what your worried about, you didn’t know any of this was going to happen. I’ll never blame you.”

Ben’s held onto Callum’s other hand, never wanting to let him go again. 

“I heard everything you said...” 

“Before you came?”

Ben nodded, smiling at him. 

“Your still trying to protect me, even though your stuck here. I heard you trying to defend me even though he hurt you for it. I would never have just left you, you know. I would have kept looking and searching until I found you.”

“I’ll always defend you. Everything he says about you isn’t true, I know your a good person. You’ve found me now. But please you need to go. I don’t want him to find you.”

Ben tried to look at Callum’s neck too, trying to work out the damage. 

“It doesn’t look as bad as it looks...” He tilted his head down, making it difficult for Ben to see. 

“It doesn’t look like it to me. He could have killed you right there and then.”

“He didn’t. I’m sorry you had to see all that, I didn’t want him to call you.”

“I know. It broke my heart seeing you look so scared. And I couldn’t do anything to stop him.”

“I really thought he was gonna kill me...” He whispered. 

Ben wiped away a tear slipping down Callum’s cheek. 

“I’m sorry I’ve put you through this.”

“You haven’t put me through anything, it’s HIM that’s done this to me. I really need you to go now, though. Pleeease, Ben. He can’t find you!”

Ben stroked along Callum’s jaw with his thumb, looking up at him. 

“Let me look...”

Callum looked up slightly meeting Ben’s eyes. He searched his eyes, seeing warmth and trust in them. Everything he wanted but didn’t have when Ben wasn’t with him. The opposite of what Keanu made him feel. Ben was his safe place. 

Callum lifted his head up, exposing his neck, letting Ben look. He knew Ben wouldn’t leave until he’d looked at it. 

“I’m sorry...” He said again. He stroked Callum’s neck, with his thumb, over the cut, still deep and open. 

“Does it hurt a lot?”

Callum nodded slowly. He could practically still feel the knife digging into him. 

“I’m gonna get you out of here.” 

“You can’t Ben.”

“Why? I’m not gonna leave you here.”

“Cos Keanu will be back in a few minutes and if you’ve half got me out he’ll know.”

“I’ve got to try! I can get you away!”

“No Ben, please...” Ben looked up at Callum, pleading with him, still trying to protect him. 

“I can’t just leave knowing he’ll still hurt you.”

Ben tried to pull at the rope, attempting to work on the knots. 

“No! Don’t do that!” 

Ben still tugged at the restraints on his wrists. 

“Why?!”

“I told you, Keanu will be back soon, he’ll know someone else has tried to get them off cos I can’t get them off like your doing, apart from trying to wriggle them free, he just keeps tightening them again.”

“They look really sore!”

“They are! I’ve given myself rope burn struggling to get out, it’s useless, he doesn’t leave it long enough before he comes back and tightens them again. But you can’t take them off. He’ll know you’ve found me. He’ll know it’s YOU, Ben. And you know he’ll come for you too and I can’t let him hurt you too. Please, Ben, just listen to me.”

Ben let go of them reluctantly, pressing another kiss to Callum’s lips. 

“You look tired.”

“I am. I can’t sleep, sitting like this can I? And I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway, cos I’m starving.”

“I don’t think it’s possible to hate anyone as much as I do him.”

“Believe me, I know what you mean.”

“I heard you telling him you hated him.” He smiled. 

“Yeah well, that earned me another injury to add to my list of others.”

Ben leaned up to kiss him again, not wanting to leave him ever again. 

“I’ll come back when it’s safe. I’ll bring something for you to drink and eat. I’ll be able to get you out of these quickly before Keanu comes back. I just needed to find you first.”

“When it’s safe...” He reminded making sure Ben was safe too. 

Ben nodded, kissing him another time. 

“Don’t get him anymore money either. You know he’ll hurt me anyway so what’s the point? You won’t be able to get that much anyway.”

“It’s fine. Tubbs got the first lot for me and I’ve got more soon.”

“You were careful weren’t you? With all the dodgy stuff?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Tubbs did it all. I’m surprised your not annoyed.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be doing it if you weren’t in this situation. Besides who’s Ben Mitchell, without his dodgy deals?” He smiled. 

“I nicked all Dad’s money out of his account.”

“Ben! You can’t do that!”

“It’s fine, Mum knows.”

“Knows?”

“Everything. I told her everything, she caught me with all the accounts all over the table, I couldn’t lie to her.”

“Don’t give it to Keanu. He keeps going on about how much I’m worth.”

“I have to, or he’ll kill you. I can’t lose you, Cal. I’d lay anything if it meant you were safe. You are priceless to me.”

“He will kill me when you don’t get enough.”

“I’ll have you out by then, just give me a bit more time and I’ll get you out of here. I promise. When it’s safe, I’ll come back.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go...” 

“Me too, but I swear I’ll make sure your safe soon. As soon as it’s safe, I’ll come back to you.”

“Be careful, won’t you?”

“Yeah, I’ll be like Batman, sticking to the shadows.” He smiled. 

Callum smiled at him, keep glancing at the door. 

“Please go, I swear I keep hearing things.”

“I want you to know something.”

“Yeah, what?” He was still watching the door, not really listening to Ben anymore, trying to listen for Keanu, he was sure he’d been gone longer than half an hour now.

“And I’m not gonna say it cos of the whole bad situation and all, I really want you know. I mean, when is it a good time to say it you may as just say it, get it out there, you know?” He swallowed nervously, watching Callum looking at the door. “I know I’ve been scared to say it but I need you to know that-“

“Ssshh!” 

Ben shut up instantly, looking round at the front door, listening. 

Callum looked at back at Ben, looking terrified. 

“Go, Ben! I swear I heard him!”

Callum looked round Ben at the door when he heard the front door unlocking. 

“Go! Now!” 

“I don’t think I can...”

“Ben!” He pressed a hard kiss to Ben’s mouth. “Please! Go! He can’t find you!” He whispered urgently. 

“When it’s safe...” He reminded, promising him he’d come back for him. 

Ben stood up back up, kissing his mouth again, pressing another kiss to his hair. He looked at Callum’s eyes for a second longer, memorising his face and his eyes, before dashing off back the way he came, disappearing to the side again, just as Keanu sauntered in. 

He stayed a little longer watching from the shadows, noticing Callum glance at the way he’d just gone, making sure he was safe and out of sight from Keanu. Callum breathed out a sigh of relief slowly, looking away from where Ben was hiding, trying not to make it obvious to Keanu. 

“Missed me?” Keanu grinned. 

“Always.” Callum plastered a fake smile on his face, before glaring at him.


	20. Chapter 20

Ben watched them both for a while, restraining himself from going in there and killing Keanu right now. He was still taunting Callum, finding it all amusing. Callum going back to looking terrified again.

“Did you have fun without me?”

“Immensely.” He smiled sarcastically. 

“I reckon I need to pay Ben a visit, don’t you? For saying he wants you home, he isn’t getting this money very fast.”

“He’s getting it. He needs more time.”

“I’ve given him time! Your time on the other hand...” 

“He’ll give you more soon.”

“How do you know that?”

“Erm, cos he just will won’t he?”

Keanu frowned at Callum, suspicious. 

“You said yourself, he’ll be trying to get it together and he will be. I know Ben, he’d pay you anything to get me out of here.”

“Told you that himself, did he?” He smiled. 

“Yep.”

Keanu grinned to himself, thinking Ben still had no clue where they both were. 

Ben made himself leave, really not wanting to, but he knew he had to for Callum. He looked at Callum one last time before taking the route he came to get back to the front, walking slowly back to the car. 

He let himself into Callum’s flat, not wanting to go home where his Mum was. She’d only make him explain everything, telling him off cos he put himself in danger too. He’d put himself in danger, if it meant Callum was safe. He’d do anything to get Callum back. He sank down onto the sofa, trying not to think how scared Callum must be right now. 

He wasn’t sure what to do, so took himself into the bedroom, lying down on the bed, trying to think of how to get Callum out quickly enough before Keanu came. He knew Keanu would find them again if he did manage to get Callum, making the flat not safe anymore for him. He promised Callum he’d make sure he was safe. He just wasn’t sure how he was going to do that with Keanu still around. 

He buried his nose into Callum’s pillow trying to breathe him in, his scent starting to fade from being there for days. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve not even realising he’d been crying, letting his tears fall instead, sobbing to himself, pulling the cover over his head. 

He pulled the duvet further over his head when someone sat on the bed next to him.

“Go away, Stuart. Get out of my bed, I don’t fancy sharing a bed with Callum’s brother.”

Stuart rilled his eyes at him, ignoring that part.

“I can practically hear you crying from the Vic.”

“Good for you. Go. Away.” 

“Kathy told me. Thought I had a right to know.”

“Another reason for you to hate me, then.”

“I don’t hate you, you make Callum happy.”

He lifted the cover up, frowning at Stuart. 

“Says the guy who attacked cos I kissed his brother on the cheek at Pride.”

He pulled the cover back over his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I don’t care about that right now. Right now, you need to tell me everything, Kathy only told me briefly.”

“Keanu’s got your brother, end of. I’m gonna get him out if it kills me.” He huffed. 

He pulled the cover back over Ben’s head, pulling it away from him.

“Go. Away. Stuart.” He glared at him, reaching for the cover but Stuart just pulled it further away from him. 

“No. Not until you’ve told me. My brother is in danger and I’m not gonna sit here doing nothing and neither should you.”

“I’m not doing nothing! I’ve been doing everything!” He groaned burying his face in the pillow. 

“I won’t leave until you’ve told me.”

“Fine! I’m kicking you out as soon as I’ve finished though.”

“No. Your gonna sort yourself out and stop crying cos that ain’t gonna make Callum feel any better and then we’re both gonna go and save Callum and bring him home.”


	21. Chapter 21

“Wait, you know where he is?” Ben had told Stuart everything, hoping he’d go away. 

“Yeah, I went to see him without Keanu knowing.”

“And you didn’t get him out?!”

“I didn’t have time, Stuart!! And I can’t risk Keanu knowing I’ve been there cos he’ll hurt Callum even more!”

Stuart squinted at Ben, still unsure. 

“Have you got a plan?”

“I’ve got another 32 grand, I’m gonna give him cos he’ll kill Callum if I don’t give him anymore.”

“Why do you seem fine giving it to him?”

“Cos Callum’s more important than money. I’d give Keanu anything he wanted if it means I can keep Callum alive.”

“How you gonna get him out?”

“When Keanu’s left again, I can get Callum out the way I came in. He didn’t lock the back door, so I went in there.”

“And your sure you can do all this, without Keanu knowing?”

“I hope so.”

“I’m coming. Who else knows?”

“Mum and Jay.”

“Bring Jay as well.”

“It’s not a day trip Stuart! I need to save Callum! What’s Jay gonna do?!”

“I don’t know, but surely three of us against Keanu, is better?”

“We can’t all go in there! If Keanu comes back, we won’t all be able to get away in time!”

“Well, I’ll wait outside then!”

“Fine, but I’m not putting Callum in any more danger!”

“Still can’t believe you’ve paid him that much.”

“I’ve haven’t got a choice.”

“Well, come on then don’t just sit there! We need to find something to help get Callum out!”

“Come on, Keanu, can’t you just take ‘em off. It’s not like I’m gonna go anywhere, you tied me feet n’all, so I won’t get far.” Callum pleaded. 

He hoped if he didn’t have his hands tied, Ben would be able to get him out quicker or he’d be able to get his feet free if he had use of his hands. 

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know where we are! I’m not gonna get far if I did get out am I? I’m cold, I’m hungry and the deserts had more water than me.”

Keanu ignored that part telling him he was hungry and thirsty.

“Why you suddenly determined to get ‘em off, you weren’t earlier?”

“Why would I want to be tied to a chair?! Please, Keanu, I’m not gonna try anything. You know I won’t, cos you’ll take it out on Ben and you know I don’t want that either.”

Keanu looked unsure, squinting at him, trying to work out if he was playing him, but walked over and cut them off anyway.

Callum breathed out, sighing at the sudden release of pressure. 

“Thank you.”

“Hmm, well, your wrists are a mess anyway, all that struggling you’ve been doing.”

“I won’t try and get out.” He repeated looking right at Keanu. He wanted to look away so badly. He didn’t want to see Keanu’s cold eyes, he needed to see Ben’s eyes full of warmth and trust making him feel safe. He breathed out slowly when Keanu looked away, hoping he couldn’t see he was lying. Ben would have known instantly if he was lying. 

“Where is Ben and this money? I’m gonna have to give him a little video chat again aren’t I? That should be fun.” He grinned. 

“You can come now.” He whispered when Keanu had left. 

Ben rushed over to him kneeling down next to him again, pressing an urgent kiss to Callum’s mouth. 

“You need to be more careful.” Callum told him. 

“I am careful!”

“Ben, I literally saw you waiting over there, if Keanu saw you...”

“Only cos you know that’s the way I came in yesterday.”

“Just, please, be careful, he can’t find you.”

“I will, don’t worry.” Ben kissed Callum again, looking down noticing Callum still rubbing his wrists.

“You managed to get them off?”

“No, I managed to get him to cut ‘em off.”

“That’s good. How??”

“Just told him, I won’t be able to get far and if I did he’d come for you.”

“I’ll help you get out of here.”

Callum nodded, shivering. 

“Have this.”

He shrugged his coat off, wrapping it round Callum’s shoulders. 

“It’s cold in here.” Callum told him, wrapping Ben’s coat further around himself. 

“That should warm you up a bit. Stuart’s here. Made him wait outside incase Keanu sees us both. He’ll be after Stuart too if Keanu sees him. Here have these.”

He gave Callum a sandwich from Kathy’s and a bottle of water. 

“Thanks for looking out for him.”

“I’m sure he can handle himself, but I know you worry, it’s safer if he stays out there, I know you want to see him.”

“How is he? If he’s found out.”

“I told him most of it this morning. He’s worried about you too, but I think he’s actually coping better than I am.”

Callum looked at him worriedly. 

“Not that I’m not coping!” He added quickly. “It just hurts to see you stuck here. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. I can think of better places for us to be having a picnic.” He smiled. 

“I’ll take you on as many picnics as you like when I get you out of here.” Ben looked up at him smiling. 

Callum smiled sadly, hardly remembering his normal life   
anymore. 

“I miss home...”

It broke Ben’s heart to see Callum so broken, forcing himself to be strong for him. 

“You’ll be able to come home soon, I’ll make sure of it.”

“I hope so...”

“I WILL bring you home. I swore I’d find you and now I swear I’m gonna get you home.”

“You can’t now though!”

“Why? I did bring a pocket knife with me to cut the rope on your wrists but you’ve already got them out. I just wanted you to drink something first, your so tired.”

“I’ve only just told him I won’t try anything to get him to take the ties off. I know it sounds stupid but I need him to trust me first, if that makes sense?”

“Yeah, but surely you want to get out of here quickly? I can cut the rope off your legs right now.”

“You have no idea how much I want to get out of here, but he’ll find us both as soon as I get out.”

“He’ll come for us both when he knows you’ve escaped, anyway. We can go somewhere else for a bit. Out of London so he can’t find us. I want to get you out of here now, Cal.”

“So do I. We can’t just leave home forever. Please just trust me on this. I’ll work something out.”

“I don’t know what idea your gonna come up with to without him finding you. You know however long you leave it he’ll find you again.”

“Please, Ben, listen to me. I might be able to persuade him to let me go on his own.”

“Pfft, he’s never gonna let you go!”

“He let me out of the rope didn’t he?”

“You still cant get away though can you?!”

“Ben! Just let me do this. He hasn’t actually hurt me today. I think he’s getting bored.”

“Until he gets so bored, he’ll kill you!”

“He won’t until you give him the money.”

“I’ve got more, I’ll give him later. You didn’t want me to pay him yesterday?”

“Look.” He nodded to the table, all of the money left in the side. “I might get a bit of my own revenge and take it all back. So if you pay him, you’ll get it back anyway.”

Ben grinned at Callum. “Who just leaves it lying around?”

“Dunno, he’s probably thinking no one comes here so it’s safe.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go now? Before he gets back?”

“No, I can’t yet.”

“I don’t what crazy idea your trying work out, but if you seem so sure.”

“He might just let me go, then we can go home instead forcing us to go somewhere else.”

“Your gonna have to hurry up and eat that before Keanu gets back. Down all that water too, it’ll keep you going for a while, you look exhausted.”

“I am. I just feel so tired like I want to sleep-“

“Please don’t say forever. I’m not gonna lose you.”

“I just feel so drained all the time now. I can’t sleep, he won’t let me eat. He only gives me some water to stop me from dying. I just hurt so much, some days the pain isn’t so bad, but then he just goes and hurts me all over again.”

“I thought you said he hasn’t hurt you today?”

“Not today but it still hurts. I’m hoping he won’t again.”

Ben shoved the sandwich packet in pocket making sure not to leave any evidence that he’d been. 

“I’m sorry, you can’t get me out now.”

“Me too. I still don’t understand why you’d want to stay here any longer.”

“I know this all hurting you so much, but trust me. I’m doing this so your safe too.”

“Don’t you worry about me, your probably hurting so much more, not just physically.”

“Do you know what I’d kill for right now? A cup of coffee.”

Ben smiled at him, watching Callum just thinking about it. 

“I’ll take you to the café as soon as you get out of here. But if your gonna kill someone, make sure it’s Keanu.” 

Callum grinned at him, Ben smiling back at him. 

“You have an amazing smile you know that?”

Callum smiled at him even wider, instantly vanishing when he heard the front door.

“Go!” He chucked the water at Ben, pulling him to his feet. “Don’t worry too much, tell Stuart that too.” He pulled the coat from around his shoulders, shoving it at Ben. 

Ben kissed the top of his hair, making sure he’d not left anything, then vanished again. 

He looked at Callum one last time before going to find Stuart. 

“Where’s Callum?!” Stuart asked.


	22. Chapter 22

“Where. Is. He?” Stuart asked. 

“I tried! He won’t come!”

“What??!! Why would he not want to get out of there?!”

“He does! He just keeps trying to protect me and you!”

“We’re not the ones who are being held hostage! I’m not leaving him, Ben!”

“I haven’t got a choice!”

“Yes, you have! You DO have a choice and that’s saving Callum!” Stuart walked round Ben in the direction of Callum. 

“No! You can’t do that! Keanu will kill him!” He hurried after him, trying to stop him. “Keanu’s in there now!” He hissed. 

“I don’t care!”

“Do you want Callum dead?!”

Stuart turned around, glaring at him. “What do you think?! I can tell you someone I do want dead though!”

“I want Keanu dead too, but I can’t do anything while Callum is still in danger!”

“He wouldn’t be in danger, if you’d just got him out of there!”

“He didn’t want me to! I’m never gonna force him to do something if he said no! You have no idea how much I wanted him to come with me but he refused to protect YOU Stuart! And me! I WILL NOT force him!! Don’t you think he’s been pushed around enough?! He’s broken Stuart!”

“Well, you should have just forced him. He’d have thanked you for it in the end.”

“Stuart stop! He’s only around that corner, if Keanu hears, Callum will get seriously hurt!”

Stuart slowed, looking round the corner. 

“Where is he then? Keanu’s not even here.”

“He is! That’s why I left!”

“Keanu is nowhere! Look at what he’s done to him! He’s got blood down his face, and his arms bleeding too!”

“What?! He wasn’t like that, just??” Ben practically pushed Stuart out of the way to look.

“Oh my god...” 

Callum leaned down trying to get the rope off his feet, crying to himself, a new mark on his head, his shirt soaked in blood, down his arm. One of his legs bleeding too. His tears streaming down his face, choking out sobs. 

“Come on! I haven’t got time!!”

Ben rushed round the corner next to Callum, not caring if Keanu was there. 

“He knows!!” Callum whined, fumbling at the rope, attempting to loosen it. 

“Knows what?! Stay still!” He cut the rope off Callum’s legs, with the knife he bought with him before Callum wouldn’t let him use. Callum instantly stood up, wrapping his arms around Ben, sobbing uncontrollably. 

“Oh god, I thought you’d gone already!”

“No! Stuart wanted us to come back!” Ben wrapped his arms around him as Callum buried his head in Ben’s neck, still crying. 

“He’s knows you’ve been here!”

“Where is he?!” 

“He’s gone! To find you! I was trying to get out, to get to you, he’s gonna kill you! I thought he’d find you!”

Callum looked up pulling away from Ben, throwing his arms around Stuart, hugging him too.

“I want to go now! I don’t wanna be here anymore! I can’t...” He whined, struggling to breathe. 

“Just breathe. Keanu’s gone to find me, so you don’t need to worry about me, okay? I’m right here.”

“We can’t go home! He’ll find us! We need to get as far away as possible!”

“We will! I’ll take you away from here, I promise. We can go anywhere you want.” Ben told him. 

“Just sit down a minute, you just need to breathe.” Stuart told him. He placed an arm around Callum guiding him back to the chair to sit down a minute. 

“Nonono... No! I don’t want to! I don’t wanna sit in that chair!!” He pushed Stuart off him, backing away from it as quickly as possible, shaking his head at it. “No...”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Callum looked at Ben briefly when he heard his voice again but went straight back to staring at the chair and shaking his head. “He’s not gonna force you to sit in the chair.” 

Callum looked at Stuart, becoming wary of him. Ben had never seen him like this, like he was in a trance, scared of everything. Convinced Stuart was going to try and force him in the chair. Callum shuffled closer to Ben away from Stuart, pressing his side into Ben’s. 

“Ssh, it’s okay, I promise he’s not gonna make you sit in the chair.” Ben wrapped his arm around Callum’s shoulders, rubbing down his arm, as Callum watched Stuart. 

“You don’t know that...”

“I do. I swear on my life, Stuart’s not gonna hurt you.” He spoke gently trying not to scare him anymore. 

He was so sure Stuart was trying to force him, becoming paranoid. He only listened to Ben, the only person he trusted right now. 

“Are you Stuart?” He raised his eyes at Stuart, getting him to say what Callum needed to hear. “Your not gonna make him sit, are you?”

“No! I’m not gonna make you sit down, I promise.” He stepped a little closer to Callum, Callum instantly walking backwards away from him, pulling Ben with him. 

“I don’t want to!” He pressed himself against the wall, sliding down onto the floor, trying to push himself into the wall. He left his leg out, still bleeding flowing onto the floor. He didn’t seem to notice himself hurting any more, too busy staring at the chair flicking his gaze back to Stuart again. 

Ben sat next to him, holding his hand in Callum’s. He jumped slightly looking down at their hands, his gaze travelling up to Ben’s face. He seemed to relax slightly after he’d scanned Ben’s face for a few seconds. 

“Listen to me, Cal. Stuart isn’t going to hurt you. I promise. You trust me don’t you?”

Callum nodded, still searching Ben’s eyes. 

“If you trust me, you know I’m not gonna lie to you. Stuart will not hurt you. He wants to help you.” 

Callum looked at Stuart, then back at Ben nodding slowly. 

“I just don’t wanna sit in the chair...” He whispered. 

“I won’t ever let you go near it again, okay? Stuart, go put it over there.”

Callum watched as Stuart took the chair away from Callum to the opposite side of the room. 

“See? It’s gone now. Please trust me.”

Callum looked at Ben again, his eyes clearing like he’d snapped out of whatever trance he was in. 

“I do trust you.”

“Good. You can. We’re gonna get you out of here, we need to go this way.” Ben told him, nodding to the way he and Stuart had come from. 

“My leg...” 

Ben looked down at Callum’s leg, a deep cut in his thigh, blooding flowing down it.

“We’ll carry you.”

He stood up offering his hands to Callum to take. He pulled him up wrapping an arm around him, to help steady him. 

Stuart walked slowly to Callum but he’d already seemed to have forgotten what just happened, like he didn’t remember it all, snapping out of his trance. 

Stuart hooked an arm around Callum too, all of them making they’re way back the way they came, slowly, Callum limping and holding onto them both. 

“He did this cos he found out?”

“He said he knew you’d been here, but wouldn’t tell me how he knew. He hurt my face first trying to get me to admit it, but I didn’t cos I knew he’d do this, try and find you. Then he cut straight down my arm instead.”

“And your leg?”

“He did that when I still denied it. I couldn’t take any more pain, Ben...”

“You admitted it?”

“No! I’d never had told him! I swear I don’t know how he knew but I didn’t tell him!”

“It’s okay, don’t worry, I wouldn’t have cared if you did, he’s already hurt you so much, we just need to get you to the hospital.”

“He’ll find me there!”

“You’ll be safe there, I promise.”

“He just... stopped? I thought he was gonna kill me again. But he grabbed the gun off the side, saying he’d go and ask you then.”

“He has a gun?!”

“Yeah, that’s what he knocked me out with the first time.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I was hoping he’d think I wasn’t lying. I’d have never told him you came, I matter how much he hurt me. But he knows somehow.”

“You’ll be safe when you get to the hospital.”

Callum limped along with Ben and Stuart holding him up.

“I don’t think I can go anymore. It hurts...” He was shaking underneath them, tying to keep himself up, already losing too much blood from his head, his arm. The worst from his leg.

“If we get you round the back, Stuart can go and fetch the car, we’ll take you to hospital as soon as we get you in the car. It’s not too far.”

“Okay, but it’s gonna take me a while, I can barely feel my leg.”

“We won’t drop you. I just want to be gone before Keanu gets back.”

“So do I, I can’t do it anymore...”

“I know darlin’... You’ll be okay...”

“Well isn’t this just lovely? What’s this? A pathetic attempt at a rescue mission? Your boyfriend and your brother come to save the day?”

Ben shifted Callum’s weight onto Stuart, spinning around and glaring at Keanu. 

“You stay away from him...” He hissed. 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” He shrugged his shoulders, grinning, aiming the gun at Ben.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It took me ages to write this! I’ve done a lot of research on PTSD, look it up! So I’ve tried to write it right! I remember reading that you aren’t aware of what’s around you, just fixating on one thing. Of course I wanted that to be Ben for Callum. 
> 
> Hope I’ve written well! (Probably not! 😬)

“Come on, Keanu, you expect me to think the gun is loaded? When you could have shot me by now?”

Keanu aimed the gun at the wall and pulled the trigger, the bullet firing straight through the wall, making some of it crumble because the place was so old. 

Callum jumped, whining to himself, at the sound. 

“Ben, that’s definitely loaded...”

“Yes, Stuart, I can see that!” He snapped. He spun around holding onto Callum’s arms. 

“Your okay, I’m still gonna get you out of here.”

Callum shook his head, still whimpering to himself, his eyes glazed over like he was in a trance again. 

“Stuart take him outside, Keanu can have me instead.”

“You sure about this? Callum won’t like it, when he’s snapped out of whatever he’s in?”

“Go!”

Stuart made to start walking with Callum, Keanu firing right past Callum’s head, making him shrink into Stuart, moaning to himself. 

“Your okay, Stuart’s got you, Cal.”

Ben stood in front of Callum trying to protect him as best he could. 

“None of you are going anywhere! Especially YOU!” He aimed the gun at Ben again, steadying his arm.

“It’s me you want! Let them go! They’ve done nothing wrong!”

“Your all trying to get him away.”

“Why do you think?! Can’t you see he’s suffered enough pain?! He needs help, or he’ll die! He’s lost too much blood already!”

“Do you think I care what happens to any of you? Do you think I care if he dies?”

“He’s done nothing wrong!”

“Maybe not before, but seeing you...”

“I came to HIM! He didn’t ask me to visit him, how could he? He still has no clue where we are! That’s my fault, not his. I chose to see him, he didn’t ask me too, he didn’t know I’d found him until I came in here!”

“He still saw you.”

“What so he’s just meant to send me away again! You kept him from me for near enough two weeks! Please, don’t hurt him anymore, you can do what you want with me, if you just let them go.”

Keanu crossed the room, keeping the gun trained on Ben. He clutched the front of Ben’s shirt, dragging him away from Callum. Ben let him so he wouldn’t hurt Callum instead. Keanu turned Ben around, pressing the gun to his head. 

Callum struggled in Stuart arms, trying to get to him still in a trance. All he wanted was to get to Ben. Ben wasn’t sure Callum even knew what Keanu was doing with the gun. He was just determined to get to Ben. 

“No! Callum you can’t!” Stuart held onto him as best he could, Callum repeatedly trying to push Stuart’s hands off him.

“No... Ben... Get off me!”

“No! You can’t go over there!”

Stuart readjusted his grip, Callum still trying to shove him off, whining ‘No’ and ‘Ben’ over and over again, whimpering to himself. His mind fixed on one thing and nothing else. 

“No one is going anywhere, or I swear someone’s gonna get killed and it’s not going to be me. I will kill you.” Keanu hissed in Ben’s ear. 

“What do you want me to do?! We can’t just stay here forever!” Ben tried to reason with him, his only priority to get Callum to safety. 

“I want Stuart to put Callum back in that chair, then your gonna get me my money or I’m gonna put a bullet straight through you.” He pressed the gun onto the side of his head, wrapping his finger around the trigger. 

Callum looked at when Keanu mentioned the chair, whining to himself, still trying to wriggle free of Stuart’s grasp, his eyes never leaving Ben, his only mission to get to Ben. 

“He’s traumatised! I don’t think he even really knows what’s happening! You’ve broken him, Keanu! He’s not ‘seeing’ any of this!”

“Good! I want you to feel what it’s like to feel so much pain inside of you, to be hurting for him, because it would destroy you if he was to be taken away from him. I lost my family, my fiancé, my daughter, my Mum, my life! I was forced to leave because of YOU! And you need to pay for that in the worst possible way!”

“Can’t you see there’s something wrong with him! He’s not gonna do anything you say, it’s like he’s not here!”

Keanu watched Callum still whining to himself, trying to get to Ben, shaking in Stuart’s arms, doing his best to hold Callum back. 

“He wants you.” Keanu said, more to himself. 

“Please, just let me go to him, he’s needs help. He didn’t ask for any of this!”

“He wants you, but he’s not having you.” Keanu hissed. 

“You’ve damaged him so much, are you seriously not feeling any guilt?! Look at what you’ve done to him! His leg is a mess! His face is a mess! And his arm is a mess! I’ve got know idea what his mind is like, but it’s not him standing there, it’s like he’s a different person! Don’t you feel anything?!You’ve never been this cold Keanu! Why are doing this to him, when it’s me you want!”

“You know why!”

“Please! I’m begging you! Let me go to him. You never used to be this heartless! Callum is innocent! Would you want to see someone you love like that!”

Keanu hesitated slightly, seeing the pain on Callum’s face, realising just how much he’d hurt him, not just physically, knowing deep down that none of this was Callum’s fault. All he wanted was Ben. 

“I swear you can have me if you let them two go, I’ll do whatever you want, you can do what you like with me!”

“You’d send yourself to your death for him?”

“I love him! I’d die for him over and over if it meant he was safe!”

“Callum implied you’d never said it before. I asked him but he didn’t say anything.”

Ben said nothing still focusing on Callum. 

“Shame he’s not gonna know, cos he’s not really listening. You can go and say goodbye, cos then your coming with me. I don’t care how much pain you’ll be in.” He hissed. 

He shoved Ben forward away from him. Still determined to make Ben pay instead. Ben didn’t even care that Keanu was going to kill him, he just wanted Callum to be safe. 

Ben crossed the room over to him, Stuart letting Callum go. Callum wrapped his arms around Ben, both of them sinking to the floor, in each other’s arms. 

“Cal, listen to me, your going to be okay, you can go home. Stuart’s gonna take you away from here.” 

He stroked his hair away from eyes, as Callum sobbed into him. 

“I want you to come with me!” He whined. 

“I know darlin’ but I can’t. I need you to go somewhere safe for me.”

“No! I’m not going!”

Ben had never seen Callum like this, in such a state. Keanu had destroyed him. He was like a child seeking comfort. He wasn’t the same person he usually was, he was completely different person, shaking in Ben’s arms. 

“You need to go Cal. Please.”

“I want you Ben!”

“I know, but I really need you to go the hospital, you need help.”

“I can’t...”

“You can. You can home after, I promise. Please I need you to get out of here. If you want me to be okay, you need to go the hospital. I’ll be okay if I know your safe and getting the help you need.”

He knew he wasn’t going to be okay but he was just so desperate to get Callum out of there before Keanu could change his mind. 

Callum looked at Ben for so long, finally nodding. He still didn’t know what was happening, just that he wanted Ben and wanted him to be okay.

“Thank you, I just want you to be safe.”

Callum threw his arms around Ben’s neck, Ben squeezing his eyes shut, a tear slipping down his cheek. He buried his head in Callum’s neck, breathing him in, knowing he was never going to see him again. 

“I love you.” He whispered. 

Callum hugged him a little tighter. “Love you.”

“So much...” 

He stood up pulling Callum with him, hugging him again. 

Ben looked down, when Stuart pressed something cold into his hand still resting on Callum’s back where Keanu couldn’t see. 

He looked back up wide-eyed, frowning at Stuart. 

“How...” He whispered. 

“Nicked it from Phil’s safe in E20. Later...” Stuart glanced at Keanu, aware he was watching. He’d explain later. 

“Thank you. Go...” He told Stuart. He pulled apart from Callum, kissing him once, before turning back around to Keanu. 

“I tried reasoning with you, guess you wanna play the hard way. I’m not going ANYWHERE with you.”

“I’m the one who’s holding all the cards here and I think you’ll find you will come with me now you’ve said your heartfelt goodbye. Get over here.”

“Are you though? What would you say if I were to, I don’t know, use one of my own cards?” He smirked. 

“How have you got the upper hand here? I’m the one with the gun? You’ve just said goodbye to your dear boyfriend who still doesn’t know what going to happen to you. Shame, Stuart’s just gonna have to explain when your dead.”

“Are you holding all the cards Keanu?” 

Ben smiled at Keanu, as a flash of doubt crossed his face but he steeled himself glaring at Ben. 

“Two can play at that game...” He too, pulled out a gun, aiming it straight at Keanu. 

“How’s that for holding all the cards?”


	24. Chapter 24

Ben steadied his arm, still training the gun at Keanu, Keanu doing the same to him. 

“Who’s gonna pull the trigger first then, eh?” Ben smiled. 

He still stood in front of Callum, growing weaker by the minute. 

“Take him, Stuart.”

“No one is going anywhere anymore! You blew your chance of letting him go!” Keanu told them. 

“Go, Stuart, I’ll be fine.” Ben backed away slowly, keeping himself in front of Callum, as Stuart carried him away, Callum becoming increasingly harder to carry. He was becoming heavier in Stuart’s arms, trying to keep him self up, but becoming weaker, still losing a lot of blood, flowing down his leg. 

Keanu glared at Ben, knowing he couldn’t stop them this time.

Ben looked down briefly when Callum grabbed his free hand again. 

“Please, come with me...” He barely put up a fight anymore to weak to struggle in Stuart’s grasp. 

“I can’t.” He still didn’t look away from Keanu. “We can’t go anywhere, home, if he’s still in the picture.”

Stuart helped carry Callum away, Ben still walking backwards towards the exit holding Callum’s hand, keeping the gun aimed at Keanu. 

“Please, just go to the hospital, you need help now not later.” Ben loosened his hand trying to let go of Callum’s hand but he still held on. 

“Cal, please, you need serious help. Trust me on this. Please, just trust me...”

Callum reluctantly let his hand go, still staring at Ben’s hand by his side. 

“I don’t want to leave you...” 

Ben thought Callum didn’t even know they both had guns, or even what was really happening, he just wanted Ben with him. Keanu had broken him. 

“I know, neither do I, but I want you to be safe. Just go with Stuart, trust him too, he’s gonna help you.”

Stuart helped Callum around the corner, Callum limping as Stuart tried to help him up, moaning every time he put weight on his injured leg. 

“I can’t go anymore...” Callum whined. 

“You can. We just need to get you outside then I’ll bring the car to you.” Stuart reassured. 

“It’s hurts...” He breathed out. 

Stuart looked worriedly at Callum trying to keep his eyes open, his breathing becoming laboured like he was finding it difficult to keep himself conscious. 

“Come on Callum, we haven’t got far to go, just stay with me.”

“I’m trying... I feel so... tired... I want to... sleep...” It took all his energy just to speak to Stuart. 

“You can sleep when you get to the hospital, yeah? Please don’t yet, I need you to stay awake for me? Can you do that?”

“I’m trying...”

“I know. We’re nearly outside now.”

Ben moved forward again towards Keanu now Callum had been gone awhile praying that Stuart would help him. 

“How’s this gonna end then? A little showdown?” Ben asked him. 

They were both walking around slowly, aiming the guns at each other. 

“With you dead, hopefully.” Keanu answered. 

“Or maybe it’ll be you...”


	25. Chapter 25

“I’m not gonna die, cos my boyfriend needs me. Your going to leave this time, for good.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes you are. I’m not gonna kill you, Keanu.”

“Didn’t stop you last time. Except your too much of a coward to do it yourself.”

“No, I was just making sure my hands were clean, cos I’m not going to prison for YOU.”

“So what if I go and come back again?”

“You won’t.”

“Maybe I will come back, take Callum again.”

“You WILL go, or I’ll get someone to kill you again, and I’ll make sure they will do it this time. I sure can get someone to kill you.”

“You wouldn’t be able to live with it. Callum told me how guilty you felt after Christmas thinking I was dead.”

“That’s cos I thought you weren’t heartless and evil. It was only a stupid affair after all, but then you go and get revenge on an innocent person! You tortured Callum! You’ve broken him! So I don’t care if you die this time, I don’t care what happens to you! Because you hurt him, you’ve caused him so much pain and you’ve wrecked his mind!”

Ben moved his arm down, firing a shot in Keanu’s leg. 

He dropped the gun, groaning, sinking to the floor. 

“You bastard!”

Ben crossed the room, kicking the gun out of Keanu’s reach. 

“Your the bastard! Now who’s holding all the cards?” Ben hissed. “You didn’t think I’d actually shoot you, did you? I said I’d die over and over for Callum and I’d kill over and over too. Your never gonna leave willingly so I’m just gonna have to get rid of you myself.”

“What happened to not being a murderer?” Keanu looked up at Ben, glaring at him. 

“I never said I wasn’t did I? It’s not like I’ve not killed before. I can still make sure my hands are clean.”

Ben dragged Keanu up towards him, making him groan, blood flowing down his leg.

“How would you like to be tied to a chair?” He hissed. 

He pushed Keanu into a chair, tying his wrists to the chair arms. 

“Get off me, you bastard!”

“Do you want me to put a bullet through your head now? I thought we could have a little fun first. It’d be a shame to stop now.”

Keanu tried to pull his tied hand free, Ben working on the other. 

“Ben?!” Ben looked up hearing Stuart’s panicked voice. “Ben!!”

“Don’t even try and get free!” Ben hissed, leaving one of his hands half tied, taking both guns with him. 

Keanu glared at Ben, as he hurried off in Stuart’s direction. 

“What is it?!” He asked urgently. “No...”

Ben sank down next to Stuart, dropping the gun. Callum lay next to him, looking lifeless, blood still pouring from his leg and his arm. Stuart not daring to touch him.

“STUART! How could you let him get like this?!”

Ben shrugged his jacket off, wrapping it around Callum’s leg and tying it, trying to slow the flow of the blood. “Why didn’t I do this before!” He muttered to himself. 

“I tried to carry him, he couldn’t go anymore! He was just getting harder and harder to carry and he just passed out in my arms! I can’t find a pulse!”

“Stuart, jacket!”

“What?”

“Give me your jacket!”

Stuart gave it to Ben, as he wrapped it around Callum’s arm, tying it, so it soaked up some of the blood, still bleeding from where Keanu had hurt him there too.

“Cal? Callum?! Can you hear me? I’m right here, darlin’.” He looked at Stuart looking terrified. “Have you rang an ambulance?”

“No!”

“Do it then! We should have done this at the start!”

“Keanu wouldn’t let us!”

Ben pulled Callum into his lap, feeling his neck for a pulse.

“Is he...” Stuart whispered. 

“No, he’s alive... Barely...”

“Oh god... I thought he was already dead.”

“Just ring an ambulance Stuart!”

Ben stroked Callum’s hair away from his eyes, resting his head on his arm. 

“Please don’t die. I need you...”

He sat fully on the floor, cradling Callum in between his legs watching Callum’s chest rise very slowly barely breathing at all. 

Ben sat trying to get Callum to talk to him, whilst Stuart spoke quickly on the phone. 

“Come on, Cal, please. I need you to stay with me. I know your breathing, I just need you to talk to me.”

“They’re on their way.” Stuart filled in. 

“Good. I should have just rang them anyway.”

“Keanu would have shot you, Ben. He would have killed you.”

“I don’t care, Callum might die because of me.”

“You didn’t ask Keanu to take him.”

“Why are being so reasonable? I thought you’d be fuming that I’ve done this to Callum.”

“You haven’t done this to him, Keanu has. You love him and you want him to be okay just as much as I do. What happened to Keanu anyway?”

“Thought I’d see how he liked being tied to a chair. He’s not going anywhere.”

“Don’t know why you didn’t just put a bullet through his head.”

“I can’t just murder him, I told him I would, but I don’t know what I’m gonna do with him yet. But I can’t kill him, not after last time. I don’t know how to make him go away. I hated myself when I pushed Callum away. Now look where that’s got me...” Ben stroked the side of Callum’s face, trying to get him to respond. 

Stuart never had a chance to respond, looking at Ben when Callum opened his eyes looking up at Ben. 

“Cal... An ambulance is on it’s way to help you. I’m definitely going to make sure you get there this time, cos I’m not gonna let you die, I promise.” 

Callum tried to keep his eyes open, whining to himself. 

“I know your hurting, but you’ll be okay soon, I need you to stay with me, okay? I need you to talk to me.”

“Ben...”

“Yeah... I’m right here.” 

Callum smiled weakly at Ben, letting his eyes close, struggling to breathe. He let his head roll to the side on Ben’s arm. 

“Nonono, come on, Cal, I need you to stay awake for me, please, talk to me.” Ben held his hand over Callum’s face turning his head to him. “Cal, please, I’m begging you, I need you to stay awake.”

Callum managed to open his eyes a little at Ben’s touch. 

“You don’t have to talk if you can’t, just keep your eyes open for me.”

“Ben...” Callum breathed out again. 

“Can you keep your eyes open for me?”

Callum tried to shut his eyes again, his breathing becoming shorter and faster now as he tried to stay conscious.

“Look at me, Cal, please just look at me...” 

Ben stroked his hair away from his eyes, Callum trying to keep his eyes open when Ben touched him. 

“That’s it darlin’ keep looking at me.” 

Ben kept stroking Callum’s hair and his face, his touch the only thing seeming to keep Callum conscious and keeping his eyes open. 

“You can do it. Your okay. I’m right here, I’m not gonna leave you, your gonna be fine.”

Callum moaned to himself, tensing in Ben’s arms squeezing Ben’s hand in his own. 

“The ambulance will be here soon, they’ll help you...”

Stuart turned away from them hearing a noise. 

“Ben... Keanu...” Stuart didn’t wait for a reply, grabbing one the guns, aiming it at Keanu behind Ben, pulling the trigger without thinking.

Ben looked around at the sound of the gun, as Callum whined in his arms. Keanu dropped to the floor, holding onto to where Stuart had just shot him a knife dropping out his hand. 

Ben held onto Callum’s hand, stroking his thumb across it, so he still kept his eyes open, responding to Ben’s touch. He shuffled over next to Stuart, staring at Keanu. 

“He was gonna kill you... must have got free from the ties... the knife...” Stuart looked from Ben to Keanu dropping the gun, his hand shaking. 

Ben and Stuart kneeled next Keanu, watching as he bled onto the floor from his leg where Ben had shot him and from where Stuart shot him too, his blood pouring onto the floor underneath him. 

“What have we done, Ben...” Stuart whispered.


	26. Chapter 26

“Stuart! Why’d you do that for??!!”

They both stood there watching Keanu bleed from his side where Stuart had just shot him. 

“He was gonna kill you!! He had a knife and I just saw the gun and I didn’t think! So I just shot him! I didn’t know what else to do!”

“We can’t just leave him there, the ambulance is gonna be here soon. We haven’t got time to be doing anything with him now.”

“Is he dead?”

Ben picked up Keanu’s hand feeling for a pulse. 

“No...”

“What do we do?? Should we let the ambulance take him to hospital?”

“No, you can’t do that! You’d get sent to prison, Stuart!!”

“I didn’t mean to! Well I did, but he must got free somehow.”

“You still shot him! I only half tied one of his wrists, he obviously got that free and then got the other free too. Stay here with Cal, talk to him, keep holding his hand.”

Stuart did as he was told, holding onto Callum. 

“What are you gonna do? You can’t just let him bleed out?”

“Yes I can, there’s nothing else we can do! We’ll go back to him once Callum’s safe and in hospital, if he’s dead then he’s not gonna hurt Callum anymore. I wasn’t planning on killing him but I think this is the only way to get rid of him now?!”

“Are you just gonna leave him to die?”

“I’m not leaving Callum to die so Keanu’s just gonna have to wait.”

“Hurry up, the ambulance people will be here soon!”

“I am! Just keep Callum warm, it’s too cold in here. He must be freezing.”

Stuart nodded as Ben took Keanu’s hands dragging him backwards back the way he came. 

He pulled Keanu’s jacket off tying it around his side where Stuart had shot him, so the blood wouldn’t trail along the floor, dragging him into a another room round the back. 

He looked at the jacket for a while debating whether to take it back off and let him bleed or leave it on. 

He slammed the door making his way back round to Callum. If he died and still had the jacket on, it wasn’t like he’d killed him, was it?

“How is he?” He kneeled down next to him, taking Callum back in his arms, trying to keep him warm. 

“He’s the same. It’s like he didn’t care I was there. He just kept moaning your name over and over.”

Ben stroked Callum’s hair away from his eyes, as he looked at Ben again. 

“I’m right here darlin’, I’m right here. Keep looking at me again, I need you to keep em open for me. You can’t go to sleep yet, please.”

“Where are they?!” Stuart rushed off back the way him and Ben came, trying to find them. 

Callum sighed heavily not looking away from Ben until his eyes closed.

“No! Don’t close your eyes! Cal, come on, please, I need you stay awake for me, just a bit longer. You can’t die, please, I need you.”

Ben kept his hand over the side of Callum’s face, stopping him from letting his head roll to the side. 

“I can’t lose you, not after everything we’ve been through. I love you too much. Just stay with me please...”

Ben looked when Stuart came rushing around the corner answering questions. 

“Erm, Callum Highway, 28. I was the one who phoned. He’s been kept here for nearly two weeks Ben only found him the other day.”

Ben reluctantly let go of Callum as the paramedics took him away. Ben stayed on the floor, looking at his hands covered in blood. He didn’t even know if it was Callum’s or Keanu’s. 

“I’m gonna have to ask you two to come with us, the police will want to ask you some questions about Callum and Keanu.”

Stuart looked at Ben worriedly, but Ben just stood up slowly, following them. 

“Yeah, course, I just need Callum to be okay.”

“We will do everything we can. But where is Keanu now?”

“I don’t know, he managed to get away, we were both too busy trying to get Callum to stay conscious, I think he might have done a runner cos he knew you were coming.”

“So no one else was hurt or injured?”

Ben hesitated for a second before speaking. 

“No... Me and Stuart are both fine and Keanu was fine when I left him too.”

Ben glanced at Stuart making sure he’d say the same story. 

“Okay, follow us, your going to need to tell this to the police, why Keanu had taken Callum in the first place.”

Ben nodded, waiting as they took Callum inside the ambulance. 

“What do we do?!” Stuart whispered urgently. 

“Nothing yet. Keanu escaped, we were with Callum, end of. I’ll figure the rest out on the way. Just be quiet and let me deal with it.”

“Your way too calm.”

“We haven’t got a choice, Stuart!” He hissed. “Do you want to go to prison?! I’m trying to save your skin here, cos you shot him! So just shut up and get in.”

Stuart still looked unsure but followed Ben as he sat down next to Callum, watching the paramedics look over his leg and the rest of his injuries as they drove.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna start exploring PTSD a lot more in future chapters with Callum at home. I’ve done so much research on it just to get it right so hopefully I’ll do it okay?? 🤞

Ben sat holding Callum’s hand all the way to the hospital only letting go when the paramedics took him away. 

“What are we gonna do with Keanu?” Stuart asked. 

“I don’t know! I don’t really care what happens to him right now, Callum is the only person I care about and if he dies I’ll never forgive myself.”

“He’s not gonna die.”

“How do you know that Stuart?! You don’t!”

Ben stood up pacing, they’d been waiting for ages, waiting for an update. 

“He’s in the best place now.”

“Oh, that’s what everyone says! Still doesn’t mean he’s gonna survive is it?!”

Ben looked up when a doctor walked towards him. 

“How is he?”

“Callum is in a stable condition, you can go and see him now.”

Ben followed the doctor not checking to see if Stuart was following too. 

He sat down next to Callum, holding his hand. 

“He’s sleeping off the anaesthetic and morphine we gave him when we operated on him. He should wake up soon. He’s had stitches in his arm and in his leg. You probably saved his life keeping him warm and tying his leg and arm up, he already lost a lot of blood but with you slowing the flow, he was able to stay conscious for longer.”

“What about his face? Keanu hurt him a lot there too.”

“There’s not much we can do about that, I’m afraid. It should heal on its own, in time.”

“I don’t know what Keanu’s done to him or said to him, but his ruined his mind. It was like he wasn’t there? Like he was in a trance? He was so sure that Stuart was gonna try and hurt him.”

“I tried to get him to sit down and he just freaked out.” Stuart added. “He wouldn’t let me near him.”

“From what you told me, Keanu had tied him to that chair for nearly two weeks, hurting him. He’s probably traumatised and not sure who to trust anymore.”

“But I’m his brother!”

“I know, but I doubt he was thinking straight.”

“I kept telling him that Stuart wasn’t gonna hurt him, but he just said I didn’t know that. It was like he didn’t know Stuart anymore. Why would he trust me and not Stuart though?”

“I know this may sound like a strange question but how much did he trust you, how much did he want you in particular?”

“Erm, he wouldn’t trust Stuart until I kept trying to persuade him he could. And when Keanu had me, it just made him even worse, trying to get to me. He got himself in a right state cos he wanted me but Keanu wouldn’t let him. It’s like he’s broken him. His eyes... they looked glazed over? Like he wasn’t seeing any of it, like he wasn’t there.”

The doctor nodded to herself more sure. 

“What?”

“I’m thinking he’s showing various symptoms of PTSD.”

“I thought he only had that cos of the army? Cos he’s been fine all the while I’ve known him and he was in the army practically since he was a kid.”

“Most people recognise PTSD as an effect of army trauma. I think because of all the damage that Keanu had caused, it’s brought up the past. I think he’s that traumatised it’s triggered his PTSD from the past too. There can be many signs and symptoms linked with PTSD. The trance you described that’s one of the main effects. People can become fixated on something or someone in Callum’s case, being you. He obviously trusts you a lot and wanted you to keep him safe.”

“I couldn’t keep him safe though...”

“From what you told the paramedics in the ambulance you did, he’d only respond to your touch, when he was in your arms. You managed to keep him conscious, Ben, I’d say that was keeping him safe.”

“Maybe...”

Ben looked up, remembering something else. 

“Keanu was gonna let Callum go and have me instead but he wouldn’t go without me. He wasn’t the same person he usually is, Keanu has hurt him so much...”

“He’s bound to be traumatised and when he wakes up he probably won’t remember being in a trance so to speak. It’s like when someone sleep walks, they wake up and don’t remember ever doing it.”

“He’ll remember everything that happened just not the parts where he was in a trance?”

“Pretty much.”

“I wish I could make him forget what Keanu did to him...”

“I’m afraid he’s not gonna forget what happened. We’ll give him some painkillers to take home with him, but if he’s as well as can be expected physically, I don’t see why he can’t go home tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Are you sure he shouldn’t stay longer incase something happens?!”

“I know he may look bad, but he only passed out and struggled to stay conscious because of the blood loss. He hasn’t got any internal injuries. He’ll probably take a lot longer walking cos his thigh will be hurting but he’ll be fine to go home, I wouldn’t let him if I didn’t think he was well enough.”

Ben nodded, looking over Callum sleeping. He looked so relaxed, nothing like he was when he freaked out about sitting in the chair. 

“I’d like you to keep an eye on him though.”

Ben looked up frowning at her.

“He is bound to be stressed like anyone would after what he’s been through, he may not even show anymore signs of anxiety linking to his PTSD, he could just be a bit jumpy or wary and stressed, but he could have serious effects too. So I’d like you to keep an eye on him and if he does show any signs of any symptoms I’d like to know.”

“What’s it mean if he does show symptoms?”

“We can get him the help he needs. Whether that’s medication or someone he can talk to. It could affect his normal life, he may become withdrawn or detached from people or even find an disinterest in life.”

“He might try and kill himself!”

“Not necessarily. I meant he could have a panic attacks or become that distressed he could put himself in danger if he’s not careful. I just want you to keep an eye on him for a few weeks make sure he’s okay. Well, as well as he can be, he’s bound to be stressed at the moment.”

“I won’t let him out of my sight.”

“Try not to overcrowd him though, he may want to be alone sometimes, you need to respect that.”

Ben nodded quickly. He would never want Callum to feel he was pushing or stressing him out even more. 

Ben looked up when someone walked into Callum’s room. 

“Is now a good time to ask Ben and Stuart a few questions about Keanu?”

Ben glanced at Stuart already starting to panicking.

The doctor spoke to the policeman giving him an update on how Callum was, building a better picture of what Keanu had done to him. 

“Stop looking guilty!” Ben hissed to him, whilst they were talking. 

“I’m not...” Stuart whispered. 

“Just let me deal with it.”

Ben looked back at the police officer flashing him a smile, as he sat opposite them. 

“I’ll explain the rest later. I need to go through a few more things with you.” The doctor smiled. 

“Thank you.” Ben told her as she left. 

“Well, finding Keanu would be a good start.” The police officer started.


	28. Chapter 28

“Do either of you know where Keanu is now?” The police officer asked. 

Stuart looked up at Ben, beginning panic. 

“He got away...” Ben answered. 

“How?”

“I don’t know, we were both with Cal the whole time, trying to get him to respond cos he kept drifting in and out of consciousness. And he wasn’t there when we went back to see where was. He must have known we’d called an ambulance, and that the police would get involved so he legged it.”

“You have no idea where’d be now? Where he’s most likely to go to.”

“Abroad again? He left the country before cos my dad was after him cos Keanu had an affair with his wife. So he’s probably gone back again. I think he only came back to try and get to dad.”

Ben made sure he left the whole hiring Martin as a hitman out. He’d drop himself in it otherwise. It’s not like Keanu could tell them a different story if he was dead by now.

“Can you tell me why he took Callum?”

“Erm, he wanted me to get him a load of money, I don’t know what for, in exchange for Callum. I did get him some so he wouldn’t hurt Callum, but he did anyway...”

“Why would he target Callum if Keanu was trying to get to your dad?”

“Cos Dad’s abroad at the moment too, so Keanu probably thought I was the next best thing? He knew I’d give him what he wanted if Callum was safe. It worked didn’t it? Gave him a least 25 grand.”

“Have you got that back?”

“Keanu never put it in a bank, he just kept the cash, so I took it back.”

Stuart glanced at Ben, confused. The money was still over there now. 

“When did you get the money back? From what you told me you never left Callum the whole time Keanu escaped?? How did you get the money if you were with Callum the whole time?”

“Oh, right. When they were putting Cal in the ambulance, I grabbed it incase Keanu came back.” 

It was the best he could think of right now. 

“Okay, that’s fine. And how are you two? Your probably both shaken up too.”

“I’m okay, I just want Callum to be okay too.”

“Yeah, I’m fine...” Stuart added. 

“At least no one else got hurt.”

“No...” Ben answered. 

“I think that’ll do for now. Your sure you don’t know anywhere that Keanu would go?”

“Not really apart what I said before. Will you go back to the warehouse to check?...”

Stuart looked up at Ben then at the police officer, already starting to panic. 

“Not at the moment, I highly doubt he’ll go back there to hide, if Callum and the money isn’t there anymore. He’ll probably be already gone now, but we will keep looking. We’ll only go back if he gives us reason to believe he’s been back there again.”

“I need you to find him! He tried to kill Callum!”

“We will do everything to find him, Ben. Thank you for answering my questions, I know your worried about Callum right now but we will try and find Keanu.”

“Why’d you say that for?! You can’t ask them to find him?!” Stuart hissed as soon as the policeman left. 

“I had to say something! Anyone would want to find the person who’d been torturing their boyfriend?! I know I would if you hadn’t shot him and is probably dead!” He hissed. 

“And what was that about the money? You haven’t got it back yet?”

“I can’t have them sniffing around when Keanu is still in there! They’ll go back if I say I haven’t got it. Then what am I gonna say when they find him and realise I’ve been lying all this time!”

“Your too good at lying...”

“Yeah well you learn when the coppers are always sniffing around all the time. Your not helping panicking too much.”

“I can’t help it! I might have killed him! I know I’m no saint but I’ve never murdered anyone!”

“He might not be dead. I’ll go see what’s happening with him after Cal’s awake. I want to be here when he wakes up. Then we’ll work out what we’re doing with Keanu and go get my money.”

“Thanks by the way, for helping with the whole I-kinda-shot-Keanu thing, lying to the police and everything.”

“Keanu could have been me if you hadn’t shot him. Could be me dying. Not gonna be much use to Callum if I’m dead am I? You probably saved my life, it’s the least I can do, Callum will need you too, your not gonna be much use either if your in a prison cell, so lying for you it is.”

“I don’t how I heard him, just turned around and saw him. He was gonna kill you, so I just shot him.”

“Who knew? We’d bond over someone trying to kill me?” Ben smiled. 

“Callum always wanted us to get on.”

“Didn’t think it’d take probably murdering Keanu to make it happen though.”

“When are you gonna see if...”

“Later. I’ll go back, when Callum’s awake before he comes home. The doctor hadn’t finished explaining it all anyway. She’ll probably be back soon. I want to make sure Callum is okay first before I even think about Keanu.”

Callum turned himself over facing Ben, his hand resting ontop of Ben’s. 

“Think he’s coming round from the drugs now anyway, I want to be here.”

Callum curled his fingers around Ben’s hand letting out a deep sigh.

“He just looks so calm.” Stuart said more to himself. 

“I wish he couldn’t remember what Keanu’s done to him, he hurt him so much...”

“At least Keanu can’t hurt him anymore...”


	29. Chapter 29

The doctor had returned not long after the police officer left. Stuart had already gone before she returned to get coffees so it was just him and the doctor with Callum. 

“He’s bound to be slightly confused when he wakes up, so he probably won’t be so stressed when he first wakes up, cos some of the drugs will still be in his body. Unfortunately, it will all come back to him when he’s fully awake.”

“So he’s not gonna freak out when he wakes up? Like do his trancey thing?” 

Ben didn’t think he could see Callum so terrified and confused again. 

“I doubt it. He’ll just be a bit woozy. We’ll keep him in overnight, just to be on the safe side, but if all is well, he’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”

Ben nodded looking at Callum stirring again. 

“He’ll be awake soon.” The doctor told him. 

“I do want him to wake up, obviously, I just don’t want him to be hurting...”

“He won’t be. I’ll give him some more morphine overnight, then I’ll get him some different ones to take home with him. They will be a little less stronger but he shouldn’t hurt too much.”

“I didn’t mean, physically, I meant everything going on in his head, it’s gonna hurt him so much, even though Keanu has gone...”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about actually.”

Ben tore his gaze away from Callum back to the doctor.

“Talk to me about what?” He frowned. 

“I know it’s going to be hard for you too, trying to understand what Callum is going through and if he does show signs of PTSD. So just leave him for a while, let him be alone if he wants to. And if he does want to talk to you, you’ll be there for him.”

“Course I will. I just want to help him.”

“Listen to him too, if he wants space, give it to him, if he wants you with him, stay with him. He’s bound to fragile at the moment so just let him go at his own pace. He may get startled very easily feeling he needs to keep himself out of danger so try and slow down for him. He’ll realise your not going to hurt him eventually.”

“What happens if he goes into one of his trances again? Cos I don’t think I can see him like that again. He was so scared...”

“Make sure he’s not going to put himself in any danger and try and get him to breathe. Let him know he’s safe and no ones gonna hurt him.”

Ben nodded looking back at Callum looking so calm.

“There could be various symptoms of PTSD but I wanted to tell you before he wakes up, so he doesn’t stress himself out too much and to make you more aware. He will be wary around everyone and of everyone around him, maybe even you to start with. He could feel like he can’t trust people so don’t take it personally. He might be easily upset or angered so just be aware of how he’s feeling. If Callum really wants to go home today, I will let him, I don’t want him feeling like he’s being forced to stay here too, like before.”

Ben nodded looking back at Callum, finally starting to wake up slowly. He took his hand from Ben’s, stretching his arm out, resting it back down next to himself again. 

“Do you live with him?” She asked. 

“No, but I’m round there most of the time, I practically live there.”

“Callum will probably have trouble sleeping and if he does start to have nightmares and wake up feeling trapped just let him know he’s safe, encourage him to concentrate on his breathing. Don’t get too freaked out if he doesn’t make sense or he gets scared. Just let him work through it until he calms down again. It should pass.”

“I just wish he’d wake up and not have to go all through this pain. Keanu has damaged him so much...”

“He may not show all these symptoms I’ve described so try not to worry too much straight away. You can let one of us know if your worried or concerned about when he gets home.”

“You didn’t see him at that warehouse though, he was terrified, broken...”

“He was bound to be, being forced to stay against his will. He must have been scared, but he obviously trusts you, that’s why he wanted you with him. He’s going to need you a lot when he goes home. He obviously feels safest with you.”

“I’ll always make sure he feels safe...”

He smiled at Callum, taking his hand in his again. 

“I know you will, anyone can see you love him a lot. Just make sure you look after yourself. It’s going to be hard for you, you need to make sure your well too, remember that.”


	30. Chapter 30

It took Callum a while to wake up properly, still slightly woozy. 

“How are you feeling?” The doctor sat next to Callum as he pushed himself up. 

“Like I’ve been hit by a bus?”

“That’s expected.” She smiled. “It’s only cos you’ve just come round from the anaesthetic and the painkillers will be wearing off now. I’ll give you some more later.”

Ben glanced at the doctor but she didn’t seem concerned. Callum didn’t even seem stressed. He wouldn’t ever want Callum to be distressed but it was like he couldn’t remember or was choosing not too. 

Ben waited whilst the doctor explained to Callum what surgery he had. 

“I’m gonna give you some more painkillers, but I think if we keep you in overnight you can go home tomorrow. Is that okay?” She asked checking Callum was okay with it. She didn’t want to force him incase it scared him again. 

Callum nodded slowly, looking at his hand. 

“Oh, you’ve had a couple of stitches there too, so you might find it tricky to pick things up for a few days.”

He looked up at the doctor then at Ben for a long while, then looking back at his hand. 

“You okay?” Ben frowned at him, suspecting something was wrong. 

Callum nodded, finally looking away from his hand. 

“Yeah...” He watched the doctor, trying to work out whether to trust her or not. 

“I’ll go get you some more painkillers.” The doctor told him, as she left. 

Callum looked at Ben as soon as she left. 

“I don’t wanna be here anymore, Ben...” 

He knew Callum could remember everything Keanu had done to him already just when he looked at his hand. 

“Is it cos you don’t feel safe? Cos your safe here, I promise.”

“I want to go home...”

“I know you do, but I swear no one is gonna hurt you.”

Callum seemed satisfied for a second with Ben telling him he was safe before looking up at him and remembering something else. 

“Where is he?”

“He’s not here.” He finished quickly. “Keanu’s gone. He’s not gonna hurt you again.”

“How do you know that? He might find me again...” 

“He won’t, trust me. Your safe here and you’ll be safe at home too, he’s not gonna hurt you. I won’t ever let anyone hurt you again.”

“I don’t want to stay here!” He whined. 

Ben stood up wrapping his arms around Callum as he cried into him, wrapping his arms around Ben’s waist, pulling him closer. 

“Do you really want to go home? No one is gonna force you to stay if you don’t want to. It’s your choice.”

“I just don’t want...”He trailed off, burying his nose into Ben instead. 

“Anyone to hurt you. And they won’t, I promise. I swear on my life that your safe here. No one is going to hurt you. You know I’d never lie to you.”

Ben stroked Callum’s hair away from his eyes trying to calm him down, sobbing to himself. 

“Your okay, I’ve got you. Your gonna be fine. No one is going to force you to do something you don’t want.”

Callum lifted his head up, wiping his eyes roughly. 

“Come ‘ere.” Ben wiped his tears away with his thumbs, Callum looking up at him, still sniffing to himself as Ben held his face in his hands. 

“I’ll help you whatever you decide. It’s completely your choice. If you want to go, we’ll go. The doctor isn’t going to hurt you either, she wants to keep you safe too, by making sure your feeling better before she let you home, but she’s not gonna force you to stay.”

Callum said nothing for while, resting his head on Ben, as he stroked his hair. 

“I’ll stay...” He felt better deciding on his own, instead of people making decisions for him. 

“Can you do that for me? Just one night? Then I promise I’ll take you home.”

Callum looked up at Ben, nodding slowly again, searching Ben’s eyes. 

“I won’t let anyone hurt you again. You sure you don’t want to go home? I can take you now if you want?”

“No... I’m okay.”

“You can do that for me?”

“For you...”

Callum nodded again, holding Ben’s hand in his own. 

“She only wanted to you to stay to make sure the drugs from your surgery have left your body properly. But I will take you home if that’s what you want.”

“You promise I can go home after?”

“I swear. You can stay for me?”

Callum searched Ben’s eyes for a while, finally satisfied, nodding slowly. 

“Yeah? You sure, cos I will take you home if you really want to?”

Callum shook his head knowing he needed to stay but just needed the reassurance from Ben. 

“Will you stay?” He whispered. 

“Course I will, I’m not gonna leave you. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit? I’ll be right here when you wake up and as soon as you do I’ll take you home, I promise.”

Callum searched Ben’s eyes again, trying to see if he was lying to him. Whatever he saw in them seemed to satisfy him, nodding slowly at Ben. 

“I won’t ever let anyone hurt you again, I promise. I swear on my life.”


	31. Chapter 31

“Ben!”

“Ben!!”

Ben groaned looking up at Stuart hissing at him. 

“Stop going to sleep! We need to do something with you-know-who. Before Callum comes home, you said.”

“Now?! It’s like the middle of the night Stuart. I told Callum I won’t leave him, and be quiet! He’ll wake up, he’s only just got to sleep! Took him ages!!”

“Come on! The quicker you help me the quicker we can get back. He won’t even know you’ve gone.”

“And what if he wakes up and panics?!”

“You’ll be back by then. Your the only one he’ll listen too anyway, so hurry up and get a move on.”

Ben sighed to himself, letting go of Callum’s hand gently. He stirred slightly letting out a small whine at the loss of Ben’s hand. 

“I’m not sure about this Stuart. I’m not even supposed to stay overnight but the doctor let me to help keep Callum calm. What if he wakes up and panics cos I’m not there?”

“He’s only just gone to sleep hasn’t he?”

“Yeah but he’s already restless, he’ll wake up dead easily.”

“Once we’ve sorted this, you can stay with him all the time. It’s only once your gonna be away from him. I bet he’s still asleep when you get back to him.”

Ben still wasn’t sure but stood up slowly making sure Callum was still asleep before following Stuart outside. 

Ben took them back to where Keanu had kept Callum both of them standing outside the room, Ben had shut him in. 

“What are we gonna do with him?” Stuart asked. 

“You do know he’s probably gonna be dead? Callum lost a lot of blood in a short amount of time, We left Keanu for nearly two hours.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, you need to sort yourself out. You were already jumpy when that police officer was asking questions.”

“I wasn’t!”

“You were panicking and he was only asking general questions where would Keanu go? It’s not like he asked have you killed him. They think he’s do a runner again. What if they start asking around again? You’d be a mess. Just wait there, I’ll go.”

“No, I need to see him.”

“Why?”

“To make sure...”

“I think I’ll know if he’s dead or not. Just stay here.”

Stuart nodded, as Ben opened the door slowly. 

“Is he dead?”

Ben shut the door again, looking at Stuart. 

“He’s not there...”

“What?!” Stuart opened the door checking himself, only a pool of Keanu’s blood in there. “Where is he then?!”

“He can’t have made it far, he must be here somewhere.”

“You sure, cos if he comes back again...”

“He won’t. He won’t have made it far, I’m sure of it. It can’t be that hard, just follow the blood. You sort the blood in there, I’ll go find him.”

Ben didn’t wait for a reply setting off in the direction of where Keanu went. 

Sure enough he found him not far away, sitting on the floor, panting holding onto his side. He didn’t even see Ben until he sat down next to him, not even lifting his head up to look at him. 

“Why won’t you just go and die then?”

Keanu ignored him, holding onto his jacket Ben tied around him, incase he tried to take it off him, breathing in short, shallow breaths. The only thing seeming to be keeping him alive for longer. 

“It’s fine. I can wait. You won’t last long. Now here’s a question I’d like to know the answer to. How would you like me get rid of you? Bury you? Give you a little cremation? Something else? You best pick quickly, cos your not gonna last long. Bet you’ve already passed out once already, another time... well we both know what’s gonna happen the second time, don’t you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually messages my uncle (he’s a doctor!) how long it would take someone to die if they got shot in the side, for this. Think he thinks I’m gonna kill someone now! 😬 
> 
> Just thought I’d let you know if it sounds unrealistic. It’s not!
> 
> Apparently it’s a couple of hours if it misses organs and you stem the bleeding, so Keanu is more than likely going to still be alive. 
> 
> I wanted Ben to see him again anyway so I’m glad I can still keep it realistic.


	32. Chapter 32

“Well come on then, tell me? Burial or cremation?”

Ben sat with his back against the wall next to Keanu, resting his head against the wall.

“It’s funny how you set out to hurt me, but it’s you who’s ended up hurt. It’s you who’s come off the worst. I’d say that’s karma.”

Keanu ignored him, panting, starting to struggle to breathe. He pressed the jacket into his side, already soaked up with his blood, not doing much anymore. 

“There’s no point doing that either. Your gonna die sooner or later so you may as well take it off and get on with it.”

“Why do you get off on other people’s pain?”

“Oh so you are speaking? I don’t get off on people’s pain. Just yours. Why’d you do it? What made you think it would be a good idea to take Callum?”

“You know why...” Keanu let out a shaky breath struggling to stay conscious. 

“To get to me, I know that. You don’t know how much damage you’ve caused do you?”

“Not my fault you tried to kill me.”

“It wasn’t Callum’s fault either was it?”

“He still knew you tried to kill me.”

“You’d have loved that wouldn’t you, expecting him to hate me? Not want to know me anymore?”

“Something like that...” 

Ben looked at Keanu closing his eyes, resting his head against the wall, trying to breathe. 

“You don’t know how much you’ve hurt him do you? He’s broken. You tortured him for weeks and didn’t even care how he felt. What he must have been going through in his head, I’ll never know but I know damn well how terrified he was, not knowing, if -when- you were gonna kill him.”

“He’s alive isn’t he? A least some of us get a choice to live.”

“That’s not the point! He was scared of his own brother! He shouldn’t need to be! A doctor, who are meant to be people you can trust! He’s convinced everyone is trying to hurt him! You did that too him! And you feel no guilt! How could you do it to him?!”

“I did it to hurt you...”

“But hurt Callum in the process! He didn’t deserve any of it, did he? Why can’t you understand that?!”

Keanu ignored him, whining slightly. 

“We’re not all bad people, Keanu.”

“Just you and Stuart joining forces to kill me.”

“You tried to kill me! He saved my life, from YOU trying to kill me with a knife! Yes, me and Stuart have never been best mates and probably never will be, but he saved my life and I’ll always be grateful for that because I still get to be with Callum everyday. We both want Callum to be happy and safe, that’s what makes us different from you. We care about him. And you took that away from him, how can he be happy when he’s going to be scared every day, incase someone else tries to hurt him? He won’t feel safe anymore because you ruined his mind. He thinks the world is against him!”

“You say all this like your not a bad person.”

“I never said I was the best. Course I’ve made mistakes in the past, but Callum certainly isn’t a bad person. He is a GOOD person with a good heart. He is kind and warm and sweet and an amazing person.”

Keanu looked at Ben, smiling to himself, forgetting about them both sitting there for a minute. 

“You really love him don’t you?”

Ben looked back at Keanu, thinking that Callum could have died too. 

“Yeah, I do. You’ve just put that into perspective, cos I don’t want to leave him ever again. I love him and I’m gonna tell him that everyday because I’d have never forgiven myself if you took him away from me and I’d never said it to him.”

Keanu looked away from Ben, resting his head against the wall. 

“I’m sorry...” 

“I’m sorry Callum has to live with what you’ve done to him everyday. I’m not gonna forgive you cos your dying. I never will. The only thing I’m glad about all of this, is it’s finally given me the push to tell him how I feel, before it’s too late. Cos I’m gonna spend every hour of every day keeping him safe and happy. I will never stop loving him and I will fight anyone who tries to touch him or hurt him, because I will not let him go through anything like this again. He doesn’t deserve it. He doesn’t deserve to be living in fear forever, incase you come back for him. This is what you deserve because you forced him to do something he didn’t want and you hurt him.”

Keanu let his eyes close, letting out a long sigh, his hand slipping from his side. 

Ben waited for a while, not sure what to do. He just watched the man who had hurt Callum for so long, die. He thought he’d feel relieved, but he felt guilty? 

“Why you sitting next to him for if he’s dead?”

Ben jumped slightly, looking up at Stuart. 

“He wasn’t dead. I just watched him die...”

He stood up next to Stuart, shoving his hands in his pockets, shaking. 

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. We need to move him.” 

Ben turned around facing Keanu, Stuart standing next to him again, both looking at Keanu.

“At least he’s gone now...” Stuart whispered knowing he’d killed him. 

“Yeah. He’s gone...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t want Ben and Stuart to feel guilt as such, even though I put that, just a little overwhelmed cos he’s died? If that makes sense. No one has forgiven him, don’t worry! He’s bound to be a little shook up if he’s just watched him die. It’s just to clarify, don’t want people thinking Ben’s forgiven Keanu. He never will!


	33. Chapter 33

“Come on, we need to hurry up, I want to get back to Callum.” 

Ben shook his head, dragging Keanu backwards. 

“Come on then! Don’t just stand there! I can’t move him on my own! There’s some woods out back, we’ll take him there.”

They buried Keanu in the woods, making sure no one would find him. 

“You sure no ones gonna find him?” Stuart looked unsure, both looking at the freshly dug earth. 

“It’ll be fine. No one comes down here anyway. Come on, I need to get back to Callum.”

Ben turned his back on it, walking back towards the car. 

“Hurry up! Or I’ll leave without you!” 

Stuart was still standing there, staring at the ground. 

“Jeez, I’m coming!” Stuart quickly hurrying after him. 

They drove in silence, Stuart only speaking before they got to Callum’s room at the hospital. 

“What are you gonna tell Callum?”

“I don’t know. I can’t lie to him.”

“Well, I need to know what to say to him if he asks.”

“I don’t know, why is it always up to me?!”

“Cos he’s your boyfriend!”

“And he’s your brother! You make no sense sometimes.” 

Ben frowned at Stuart, shaking his head at him. 

“There’s no need to tell him, if he doesn’t ask. And I’m certainly not telling him right now, he’ll get himself worked up again. He doesn’t need to know right now.”

Stuart nodded, letting himself back into Callum’s room, Ben following. 

“See? Told you he’d still be asleep when we got back.”

Ben smiled at Callum, sitting down next to him, fast asleep. 

“Am I allowed to sleep now?” Ben smiled. “I was asleep until you started hissing at me.”

“Sorry, just wanted to get it over with.”

“At least he can’t hurt Callum anymore.”

Ben woke a few hours later to Callum whimpering to himself. 

He sat up immediately, holding Callum’s hand. 

“Ssh, your okay.” 

Stuart woke up too as Callum whined to himself, squeezing Ben’s hand tight. 

“Your alright.”

“No...” Callum kept repeating it over and over, pushing himself over the other side of the bed trying to get away from something in his head. 

“Don’t want too...”

Ben sat on the edge of the bed, stroking his thumb across Callum’s hand, as he moaned to himself, shaking his head. 

“Your safe. I’m right here.”

Ben slid onto the bed next to him, pulling Callum closer to him. 

“No!” He pulled himself away from Ben, breathing heavily at the sudden closeness of him. 

Ben waited until Callum felt comfortable, calming down slightly, still twisting himself around in his sleep. Ben wrapped his arms around Callum slowly, incase he wanted him to let go again but he shuffled closer to Ben burying his nose in his shirt, his scent calming him down. 

“Ssh, I’ve got you, your okay.” He pressed a kiss to Callum’s hair, resting his chin on top of Callum’s head. 

Stuart watched as Ben stroked Callum’s hair, hushing him gently. Callum soon went quiet again, still gripping onto Ben’s hand as he slept, breathing gently again. 

“How’d you do that?”

“Do what?” He was still stroking Callum’s hair and whispering to him. 

“Make him calm. He freaked out at me before.”

Ben held Callum to him, burying his hand in his hair, looking at Stuart. 

“Only cos he thought you were trying to make him sit down in the chair. Dunno really, he usually settles back down if I hold him. He has done it before at home. Think he just needs someone to hold him.”

“He needs you. I know I wasn’t always the best at the start with you and Callum-“

“Pfft, you can say that again.” Ben smiled. 

“But I know you love him and you’ll always look after him.”

“Course I will, I don’t want him to not feel safe. I want him to be happy.”

“He is with you around.”

Ben smiled to himself as Callum tried to push himself further into him, his whole body as close as possible to Ben’s. He breathed in deeply like he was trying to breathe in Ben’s scent, making him feel safer.


	34. Chapter 34

Ben glanced at Callum, watching the doctor, still nervous of her.

“You can go home today.” She smiled. 

Callum relaxed a little, his grip loosening on Ben’s hand. 

“I’ll go get you your painkillers to take home with you.”

The doctor disappeared, Callum instantly relaxing, letting himself breathe normally again. 

“You don’t need to be afraid of her, she’s not gonna hurt you.” 

Callum looked at Ben, still unsure. 

“You don’t know who might want to hurt me...”

“Trust me. She’s not going to touch you. We’ll go home soon.”

Callum nodded, seeming satisfied that Ben was certain she wasn’t going to hurt him. Ben was the only person he seemed to trust, everyone else he was still wary of, even Stuart. 

It took Callum a while to get to the car, with the stitches in his thigh, but they made it safely, Ben carrying his stuff and his meds. 

“Okay?” He asked, when they were both in the car. 

“Think so.”

“Sure, cos I can wait for a bit?”

“No, I just want to go home.”

“Home it is then.” He smiled. 

Callum hardly spoke on the way home, giving Ben one word answers only if he had to. 

“Bet you’ll be glad when you get home.”

Callum ignored him, looking out of the window instead. 

“You okay?”

“Fine.”

“Sure?”

“Yep.”

Ben gave up, driving in silence. 

Ben followed Callum into the flat, standing next to him. Callum walked slowly over to the sofa, staring around the living room. 

“Do you want me to get you something to eat? Drink? I don’t know, whatever you want to do.”

Callum ignored him still staring around the living room. 

“Cal?”

Callum sank down onto the sofa, looking at his hands, shaking. 

“Callum?”

Ben sat down slowly next to him, making Callum jump. He shot off the sofa, crossing the room away from Ben. 

“Stay away from me...”

Callum pushed himself into the kitchen counter away from Ben, struggling to breathe. 

“Cal? It’s me? I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Ben stood up, Callum shuffling across pressing his back against the wall, moaning to himself. 

“No! Just... stay there...”

“I’m staying here.”

“I don’t want you to touch me...”

“I’m not going to hurt you, I swear. Look.” He took another step away from Callum just to prove his point. 

Callum breathed out, his eyes beginning to clear, realising it was Ben. 

“It’s just me. I’m not gonna hurt you.” He tried again, seeing his eyes clear now, Callum finally ‘seeing’ him again. 

Callum searched his face for while, sliding down the wall, letting out a shaky breath. 

Ben took a step towards him again, stopping when Callum looked up at him. 

“It’s just me...” He whispered. 

Callum looked back down, hugging his knees close to him, rocking himself. 

Ben slowly sat on the floor next to him, Callum instantly shuffling closer to him, pressing his side into Ben’s. 

“You were seeing him, weren’t you?” Ben wrapped his arm around Callum, as he rested his head on Ben’s shoulder.

“I just thought he was... there.”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to explain to me.”

They stayed on the floor for a while, in silence. Callum wrapping his arms around Ben too, trying to pull him closer. 

“I thought I’d feel better at home...” He looked up at Ben, searching his eyes. 

“It reminded you of it again, didn’t it?”

Callum nodded slowly, feeling safer with Ben wrapped around him. 

“He took me away from everything, from you, here. He threatened to take Lexi, if I didn’t go with him, but forced me to anyway with the gun...”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want. I know it upsets you.” He pressed a kiss to Callum’s forehead, before he rested it back on Ben’s shoulder. 

“It just brought it all back being here. Everything he said, everything he did... I just thought it was him again... I wasn’t scared of you.”

“I know you weren’t, don’t worry about it. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

Callum sighed to himself, carrying on anyway. 

“You just sat next to me and made me jump.”

“Sorry. I don’t want to scare you.”

“Don’t be. I was just thinking about him and I looked at you and saw him. Course you don’t scare me, I could hear your voice but I just thought you were him...”

Neither of them would say Keanu’s name, Ben making sure not to say it, so not to freak Callum out. 

“I promise you, your safe now. He’s gone.”

“I was seeing him, but heard your voice telling me you weren’t going to hurt me and I saw you instead. It managed to get through to me somehow, realising it was you standing there.”

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you again, I swear on my life.” He pressed another kiss to Callum’s hair, as he buried his nose in Ben’s shirt, taking a deep breath, inhaling Ben’s scent, reassuring himself it was Ben with him and only him. 

“I thought at home, I’d feel...” He trailed off, shaking slightly. 

“Safer?”

Ben felt Callum nodding slightly, burying his hand in his hair, stroking him gently. 

“I just keep seeing... him...”

“Do you want to go and stay at Mum’s for a bit? Until your ready?”

“No. I’ll only have to come back sooner or later. I just want you with me. I need you...”

“And I’ll always be with you, when ever and whatever you need, I’ll be here.”

Callum smiled to himself, wrapping his arms around Ben a little tighter, Ben doing the same, holding onto each other, so no one could take them away from each other again, even though it was just them together. 

“I love you.” Ben whispered, kissing Callum’s hair again. 

Callum lifted his head up, looking at Ben. 

“What?” Ben asked, looking back at Callum, seemingly searching his eyes for something. Whatever he saw, he finally spoke to Ben after what felt like a lifetime. 

“You’ve never said that to me before...”

Ben frowned at him for a second remembering that he had said it to Callum, when he didn’t think he was ever going to see him again. When he thought Keanu was going to kill him. 

“It’s true.” He said instead, remembering the doctor telling him that Callum wouldn’t remember what they’d done or said when he was in one of his trances. He didn’t want to scare him again. 

“You mean that?”

“Course I do! I love you Callum Highway, I have done for ages, I was just too scared to say it out loud, scared to admit it to myself. I was scared of loving someone, no loving YOU Callum, incase I lost you. I thought maybe I wouldn’t hurt so much if I did ever lose you and never actually said it out loud. It’s selfish really, trying to protect myself, but now I know that I nearly did lose you and I’d never have forgiven myself if I didn’t say it to you sooner, tell you the truth. So I’m telling you now. I love you. No actually, I am in love with you Callum.”

“Your not selfish. At all.”

Callum grinned at Ben, kissing him once, before resting his head back on his shoulder, wrapping his arms right around Ben’s waist, Ben tightening his arms around Callum too. 

“I’m in love with you too, Ben.”

Ben let out a small sigh, feeling better to have said it to Callum again, knowing Callum knew he loved him now. 

“I’ve missed you so much.” He whispered. 

“I missed you too.” Callum smiled. 

Ben kissed Callum’s hair over and over, them both sitting together, wrapped around each other. It felt a little surreal, finally having Callum back with him, finally letting himself love him with his whole life.


	35. Chapter 35

Ben presumed Callum would be restless all night, waking up frequently, but he was quiet most of the night, hardly making any sounds. 

He moaned to himself sometimes, twisting himself around, but he always seemed to drift over to Ben’s side of the bed, nestling himself into Ben, making him go quiet again. 

Ben was surprised, thinking they’d both be up all night, but Callum only woke up once or twice, seeming to check Ben was still there before rearranging himself, curling into Ben. 

He put it down to being exhausted from hardly sleeping when Keanu wouldn’t let him and being on his pain meds, making him drowsy. 

Ben kissed his hair, Callum pressing himself further into Ben. He shuffled into the middle of the bed instead, with Callum, so neither of them wouldn’t be uncomfortable. Callum barely stirred when Ben moved him only letting out a small whine of protest of being disturbed before he settled back down in Ben’s arms, breathing gently. 

Ben left Callum fast asleep in bed, even though it was nearly midday. Ben didn’t want to leave him. He was still exhausted. Ben slowly unwrapped himself from around Callum going to make himself a coffee instead. He’d been awake most of the night incase Callum needed him, but he’d seemed fine. 

He sat on the sofa trying to be as quiet as possible looking up when Callum walked slowly out of the bedroom barely a few minutes before he’d sat down, like he noticed Ben’s absence next to him. 

“Mornin’. Thought I’d leave you for a bit, you still look tired.”

Callum looked up at Ben’s voice, shuffling over to the sofa, sitting down next to him, not saying anything. 

Ben immediately put his coffee down on the table, knowing what Callum wanted. 

“Come ‘ere.”

Callum curled into Ben, lying half across the sofa, with his head in Ben’s lap. 

“How are you feeling this morning?”

He left it open, letting Callum decide whether he wanted to tell him how he was feeling about Keanu and everything going on in his head, his injuries or how he slept. 

Callum didn’t say anything for a while, like he was working out what to say. 

Ben waited for him, lacing his fingers through Callum’s hair, stroking him gently. 

“Suppose I’m okay...” He finally said breaking the silence. 

“Suppose?”

“Well, It’s not like I was awake all night.” He said flatly. 

“That’s good. Isn’t it?”

“Yeah, my leg and my hand hurts a bit but my arm is okay.”

“Give it a few days and you’ll feel better.”

“So I suppose I’m okay...” 

“It will get better, you know. I know it may not feel like it but it will.”

“But he’s still in there though...”

Ben knew he was talking about Keanu still in his head. 

“I know you’ll never forget what happened, but your home now and your safe, I promise you. You only came home yesterday, your not gonna feel any better straight away. I’m always gonna be here for you too. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt ever again, okay?”

Callum nodded slightly looking up at Ben. 

“Thank you. For everything. For coming back for me, for being here now. Just for being you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“It’s a good job, your never gonna have to find out what it’s like without me then isn’t it. I’m going nowhere.” He smiled, stroking Callum’s hair away from his eyes. “I’d have always looked for you, I’d never have stopped because I love you and I can’t ever lose you.”

Callum grinned at Ben, making him happier when Ben told him he loved him. 

“How about we go out for a bit? Get some fresh air? Go for a walk?”

Callum’s smile disappeared, looking away from Ben up at the ceiling instead.

“Not today...”

“Are you sure? The fresh air will do you good.”

“I don’t want to go out!” Callum sat up, standing up next to the sofa. 

Ben didn’t think, grabbing onto his wrist to try and get him to sit back down. 

“Get. Off me!” Callum snatched his hand back, holding it close to him. 

“Oh god, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking! Are you okay?!”

Callum ignored him sitting back down on the other end of the sofa. 

“Cal... I’m sorry. I was stupid to touch you.”

Callum sighed looking at Ben. 

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”

“I understand. I do. And I’m sorry I grabbed you, I just didn’t want you to go off upset and I just made it worse...” He looked at his lap, sighing to himself. 

Callum shuffled back over next him, hooking his hand in Ben’s, resting both their hands on Ben’s leg. 

“You haven’t done anything wrong, not really, it’s just me being stupid, flipping out for no reason again. I know you’d never hurt me.”

Ben looked up at Callum meeting his gaze. 

“I need to think before I do stuff though.”

“You shouldn’t have to feel on edge all the time either, scared of what I’ll do.”

“I just want you to be happy...”

“I’m hoping I will be again one day...”

“I’m sorry.” Ben said again. 

“Don’t be. Honestly. Don’t feel bad for something that’s easily forgotten. I know you’d never hurt me. Ever.”

“Is your wrist okay?”

“I’m fine, Ben. Stop worrying. You hardly touched me, I wasn’t the one who was thinking. It was only you. I knew it was just you, but I still reacted the way I did. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologise either.”

“Well then, neither of us needs to apologise if we’re both okay.” Callum smiled, squeezing Ben’s hand. 

“You still don’t want to go out?”

“Not now...” He thought Ben was going to try and encourage him again. 

“Okay.” He simply said. He brought Callum’s hand up, pressing a kiss to it, placing it back down. “We’ll stay here and do whatever you want.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Anything.”

“How about a movie? And some popcorn? With you.”

“A movie, popcorn and me you shall get then.” Ben smiled.


	36. Chapter 36

Callum still hadn’t been out since he came home a few days ago.

Ben had rung the door bell when he returned home so Callum could hear his voice instead of just walking up the stairs to the flat. 

He walked round the sofa so Callum could see him before he spoke, not wanting to scare him. 

“Were you okay on your own?”

Callum looked up at Ben, lifting his head up so Ben could slide onto the sofa next to him. He’d not moved since Ben left him, apart from letting him in, lying across the sofa, staring at the ceiling. 

“Yeah, I was fine. You get anything exciting?”

Ben hadn’t been out since Callum had come home either, not wanting to leave Callum on his own for too long. He’d been forced to leave him to go to the shop. 

“Exciting? What like?” He smiled. 

“Chocolate?” He looked up at Ben hopefully.

Ben smiled at him, stroking his hair. 

“Obviously.” He rolled his eyes, jokingly, grinning at Callum. 

“Beer?” 

“Err, I don’t think so!”

“Why?”

“Cos your still on your pain meds!”

“Fine.” He huffed. “You not having one?”

“Nah, can’t sit here drinking when your not. This though...” He gave Callum a stack of chocolate bars. 

“How many did you get?!”

“Didn’t know what type you wanted, there’s like a thousand different flavours, so I sort of just bought them all.”

Callum sat up, next to Ben, taking one and dumping the rest on Ben. 

“How are you feeling today? About everything?” He glanced at Callum presuming he’d get annoyed.

“Alright, I guess.” He simply said. 

Ben smiled at Callum nibbling on some of the chocolate. 

“What?” He swallowed nervously, offering some to Ben. 

“Nothing. You just look relaxed. You haven’t been relaxed since you come home.”

“Yeah well, I’ve got you with me haven’t I?”

Ben smiled at him, as Callum carried on nibbling, standing up, to put the rest of the shopping away. He noticed Callum glancing his way to see where he was going, too far away for Callum’s liking. Ben always stayed close to Callum, knowing he felt safer when he was with him. 

“Arr, crap.” He muttered to himself. He’d managed to smash one of the jars on his way up the flat. 

“What is it?” Callum called unable to see Ben bent down behind the kitchen countertop. 

“Nothing for you to worry about, babe. You just eat your chocolate.”

He chucked the whole bag in the bin, trying to pick up one of the jars that hadn’t smashed out of the bag. It was covered in the contents of the other jars making it slippy. 

Ben looked up at Callum, checking he was alright, dropping the jar in the process, smashing that one too. 

“Argh! For Fuck’s sake!” He said to himself. 

He looked up at Callum, dropping the chocolate, jumping up from the chair. 

“It’s alright! It’s just me dropping this stupid jar.” He bent down to pick it up, hissing when he cut his hand. “Ah, shit.”

Callum still stood there staring at Ben, looking a little startled. 

“I’m sorry. Did I scare you? You sit back down, I’ll clear this up.”

“I don’t want to sit...”

“Okay, stand then. That’s okay too.” 

Ben bent down behind the countertop, picking up more of the broken glass, standing back up to put it on the side. 

“Are you okay? Look, I’ll stop doing this. I’ll sort it later.” He frowned at Callum still standing there, not quite sure where to place himself. 

Ben sat down on the sofa, Callum still wary. He patted next to him, Callum staring at the blood on Ben’s hand. 

“I’m okay, I’ll clean it up in a minute.” 

Callum didn’t speak, sitting down next Ben taking his hand in his own, looking it over for ages, before he spoke. 

“Did... he do that?”

“What? Who? It was the jar?” Ben frowned at Callum, confused for a few seconds before realising he was talking about Keanu. 

“He did that to you?”

“I dropped the jar. It’s over there, you can go and look if you want.”

“He did that because of me didn’t he?”

Ben looked at Callum, his eyes glazed over again, looking at him terrified. 

“No, Cal. He’s not here. I swear to you. Come with me, I’ll show you.”

Ben stood up but Callum grabbed his other hand pulling him straight back down next to him. 

“I need to...”

Callum looked away Ben, standing up. 

“Where you going? What do you need, Cal? I can get it for you!”

Ben stood up again, but Callum made him sit again. 

“Stay there.”

“Okay, I’m staying.”

Ben did as he was told, staying on the sofa, letting Callum do what he wanted, knowing he was never going to get through to him when he was in one of his trances. 

Callum disappeared into the bathroom, Ben forcing himself to stay where he was so he didn’t upset Callum. 

He returned a few minutes later with the first aid kit.

“No, Cal, you don’t need to do that, I’m fine.”

“No! I need to help you.” 

Ben gave Callum his hand reluctantly, letting him do what he needed to do, so let him clean his hand. It was like Callum’s head was still telling him to protect Ben, even though he told him was fine. A sense of duty to make sure Ben was safe. 

Ben watched Callum as he worked, only letting his hand go when he was satisfied. 

“Thank you, I’ll go clean up the rest of the jars, it’s a mess in the kitchen.”

Ben made to stand up for a third, time Callum stopping him yet again. 

“No, I’ll go, you need to sit there.”

“I don’t need to, I’m okay, Cal. It’s just a small cut.”

He stood up next to Callum anyway, holding his hand, stopping him from going to the kitchen. Callum looked down at them both together, like he was going pull his hand free again, like before, Ben dropping it immediately. 

Ben walked round in front of Callum, holding his face in his hands, trying to get him to look at him.

“Callum, listen to me. I’m okay, your okay, yeah?”

Callum searched Ben’s eyes for a while, like he was trying see if he could tell if Ben was hurting.

“He’s not here. I promise, no one is going to get hurt.”

“You are...”

“It wasn’t him though. I dropped a jar and cut myself, I’m not in any pain.”

“But you hurt yourself...”

“I know I did darlin’. But you’ve got to believe when I tell you I’m okay. I wouldn’t lie to you would I?”

“No...” 

“Well then, I’m fine, honestly. How about I’ll let you know if it hurts?” He hoped Callum would listen to him if he let him feel like he was helping.

Callum nodded, finally satisfied, his eyes clearing. 

“Why don’t we sit down instead of cleaning up?” 

He’d clean it up when Callum went to bed, or the middle of the night, if it stopped him from doing it. 

Callum nodded, frowning slightly at Ben. He guided him slowly back to the sofa, sitting them both down. 

Callum looked from Ben to the first aid kit, then at his hand back to scanning Ben’s face. He looked at Callum, a confused look on his face, Ben knowing Callum didn’t know what just happened.


	37. Chapter 37

Callum was restless that night, ever since Ben had scared him, dropping the jars. He kept tossing and turning, whining in his sleep, no doubt having a nightmare about Keanu again. 

Ben sat up stroking his hair away from his eyes, feeling him getting warmer, starting to sweat. 

“Ssh, your okay.” 

Ben sighed to himself sitting up fully, pulling Callum into his lap, instantly relaxed and nestling into him, wrapping his arm around Ben’s waist. 

Ben sat stroking the side of Callum’s face slowly, resting his head back against the wall, making sure Callum didn’t get too stressed out. 

The pain meds seemed to make him drowsy, so he slept better. Ben was dreading the day when Callum stopping taking his meds, his sleeping patterns would probably slowly get worse, stressing himself out all night. 

Callum pushed himself into Ben, slowly settling down again, going quiet. He just sat there for the rest of the night, holding onto Callum as he slept, stroking his hair, listening to his gentle breathing. 

Ben rested his chin on his hand, trying to keep his eyes open. His head slipped from hand, jolting him back to reality. 

“You okay?” Callum frowned at him, both sitting at the table the following morning. 

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“You look exhausted. It’s cos if me isn’t it? I’m keeping you awake all night.”

“No, course not, I’m absolutely fine. Don’t stress.”

“Ben, you look like your gonna face plant the table and you practically fell asleep on your hand just, you would have if you hadn’t have slipped.”

“I’ll be fine. Stick a couple coffees in me, I’ll be wide awake.”

“That’s not fair, Ben. You can’t survive on coffees all the time, go to bed.”

“No, I’m okay.” Ben sat up fully just to prove his point. 

“Ben, you’ve been looking after me for ages. Your not sleeping. You’ve not been to work, so you can be with me. And I don’t how your coping with me being a mess, but you are. I really am grateful, but you can’t live like this forever.”

“I’m not going to live like this forever, cos you’ll get better over time. Then we’ll both be fine. I’m not leaving you.”

“You know it’s not that easy. It’s not just gonna go away...”

“I know that, but we’ll get through each day together. But right now, I’m not leaving you.”

“You won’t be leaving me, I’ll stay here and you can go to bed.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Cal. How are you, more importantly?”

“I’d be better if you’d just go to bed.” He huffed.

“Cal!”

“Okay! I’m okay, it’s just my thigh that hurts now. Not allowed anymore pain killers today anyway.”

“Today?!”

“Yeah, why?”

“Just wondering. How about everything else?”

“I can’t say I’m tired when you look like the walking dead, can I?” 

“Cheers.” He smiled. 

“Please-“

“Nope.” Ben finished for him, knowing he was just going to ask the same question. 

“Fine.” He huffed, standing up. 

“Where you going?” Ben instantly on alert, snapping himself awake properly. 

“Calm down, don’t worry, I’m fine. Sitting on the sofa. Coming?”

Ben relaxed a little, taking Callum’s hand even though they only took about five steps to get to the sofa. 

Callum had his good days where he’d seem better, never how he used to be, but calmer. He’d get see the old Callum, seeming maybe that little bit happier and a few smiles, even a small laugh. Sometimes bad days, where he’d freaked out at almost everything, insisting Keanu was gonna hurt him, with Ben trying to calm him down and get through to him, sometimes even becoming scared of him too. 

Ben was about to sit down so Callum could lie on him, when Callum slid in first. 

“What you doing?”

“I want to sit here.”

“Oh, If you really want to.” He was too tired to insist. 

“I do.” He knew Ben wouldn’t move him. 

Ben shrugged his shoulders, sitting next to Callum instead. 

“What we doing then?”

“Nothing. Just sitting here together.”

“Fine by me.” 

Callum smiled at Ben, a while later, his plan working. Ben had fallen asleep, his head resting on Callum’s shoulder, breathing deeply. 

He shuffled around, so Ben lay on his side facing Callum, his head in Callum’s lap for a change. 

“Knew I could make you sleep somehow.” Callum smiled.


	38. Chapter 38

Since Callum had been off his meds, Ben could tell he was already like a different person. They seemed to calm him down because they made him drowsy, but now he jumped every time Ben moved or spoke, if Ben broke the silence or came in from another room. 

He’d become more reserved, telling Ben he was fine, when Ben knew he wasn’t. 

“How are you this morning?” Ben asked anyway, sitting down slowly opposite Callum at the table . He didn’t know why he asked, knowing what answer he was going to get. 

“Fine.” Callum pushed the chair back abruptly, disappearing into the bathroom. 

Ben sighed to himself, running his hands through his hair. He didn’t know why Callum wanted him so much when he first come home, to now not caring, being distant with him. Not being himself at all. None of the old Callum, Ben loved. He was so reserved, keeping himself away from Ben, pushing him away. 

Ben looked up when Callum came marching back through the from the bedroom, grabbing his coat.

“Where you going?”

“Out. Don’t need your permission do I?”

“No, I just-“

“Good.” Callum swung his coat around his shoulders, hurrying off. 

“Worry about you...” He whispered to himself. 

Ben wasn’t sure whether to follow him, or let him go on his own. It was the first time he’d been out since it all. 

He picked up his phone, tempted to call him, clicking on a different number instead. 

“Jay?”

“Ben! I’ve hardly seen you lately.”

“Sorry, I was looking after Callum.”

“How is he?”

“Now? Not good. Where are you now?”

“In the Vic? Do you want me to come round?”

“Yeah...”

“I’ll be there in five.”

Ben paced back and forth in front of the sofa, only stopping to let Jay in, before resuming his pacing. 

“I don’t know why he’s like this, Jay, pushing me away, there’s something wrong, I know it. I need to ask the doctor or find something or-“

“Ben! Just slow down.” Jay walked in front of him, holding onto his arms, stopping him from pacing.

“I don’t know why he keeps being distant with me, Jay?!”

Ben sank down onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands, groaning to himself. Jay sat down next to him, placing his hand on Ben’s knee, to stop him from shaking it nervously. 

“Where is Callum now?”

“He went out, he’s not even been out since it all happened and now he just stormed out of here cos I asked him how he was. I don’t understand, Jay?!”

“Just slow down. Explain to me, then we can ask someone who’ll know what’s wrong with him. If there is anything wrong with him. He could be fine.”

“He’s not, Jay! I know he’s not! I know Callum and there is definitely something wrong with him and not just the PTSD, the doctor said he had! Maybe it’s me... or something else, I know it...”


	39. Chapter 39

“I don’t know what you want me to explain? He’s been quite jumpy, yeah I get that, but he’s been fine with me. I scared him the other day, cos I dropped a flipping jar, but I don’t think I’ve done anything else to upset him? And since he’s been off his meds a couple of days ago, it’s like he hates me!”

“He doesn’t hate you, Ben, I know he doesn’t. He’s bound to be a bit confused in his head, he just needs to work it-“

“But why now, Jay?! Why not hate me from the start??”

“He does not hate you, Ben! The meds are bound to affect him. You said they made him calmer, he’s probably still stressed now he’s come off them. I know he was before but you know he’s not going to going to wake up and just be fine one day.”

“So he’s gonna be like this forever?”

“I doubt he will be forever. It’s always gonna be with him, what Keanu did to him must have damaged him a lot, especially with his PTSD from the army and the stuff he must of saw with his dad when he was a kid. You know he’s had a hard life. It’s all gonna be there for him. But you can’t just expect him to be totally fine. I definitely know he doesn’t hate you, your just the closest person to him. He might take it out on you, but you know he doesn’t really mean it. He’s okay, Ben, there’s nothing wrong with him.”

“I just want the old Callum back...” He whispered. 

“He will. He’ll have bad days and he’ll have good days. It all happened only a couple of weeks ago, it’s still going to be fresh in his mind. He’s going to be hurting, Ben, but I really think there’s nothing wrong with him, apart from what the doctors told you at the hospital. He will be okay.”

“I just want him to be happy... What do I do when he comes home? Do I ask how he is? Where he’s been? I don’t know what to do, Jay...”

“I think you should just let him work through this his own way, in his own time. Just see how he is when he comes homes, if you ask him loads of questions, it’ll stress him out even more. Just slow down, instead of doing everything at a hundred miles an hour. You both just need to take everything slow.”

Ben nodded slowly, knowing Jay was right. He needed to go at Callum’s pace. 

They both looked up when Callum walked back in, spotting Ben and walking over the sofa, opening his mouth to speak, then spotting Jay. 

Callum changed his mind, changing direction and heading to the bedroom instead. 

Ben glanced at Jay, seeing if he saw that. 

“I’ll give you two some space, just go check on him then leave him. I know you want to be with him all the time but he does need space every now and again. He looked like he wanted to talk to you anyway.”

Jay squeezed his shoulder, before leaving. 

Ben stayed on the sofa, not quite sure what to do. Whether to go and check on Callum now or leave him a little longer. 

He stood up, walking quietly to the bedroom, so not to scare Callum.

He spotted him lying on the bed, staring at the wall, curling himself into a ball. 

“Cal...” He whispered making his presence known. 

Callum looked up at him dropping his head back down onto the pillow. 

Ben let out a sigh of relief that he didn’t scare him this time. 

He was about to leave, presuming Callum didn’t want him there right now when he spoke quietly, nearly not hearing him. 

“Will you stay? I just want you to lie with me...”

Ben smiled at him, as Callum looked back up at him hopefully. 

“Course I will.”

Ben crossed the room, climbing onto the bed behind Callum, shuffling as close as possible, wrapping his arms around him from behind. 

Callum turned himself around in Ben’s arms, pressing himself into Ben. 

“I’m sorry...” Callum whispered. 

“Don’t be. I know your hurting.” He pressed a kiss to Callum’s forehead, pulling his head down, resting on him. 

“I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I just was just thinking about it all and then you were there and...” Callum trailed off, lifting his head back up, searching Ben’s eyes. “I’m sorry...” He whispered. 

“It’s okay, honestly.” Ben told him instead, knowing Callum wouldn’t rest if he thought he’d upset him. “You’ve still done nothing wrong though.”

“I have though... I snapped at you, and I just walked out. You must have been worried.”

“I always worry.” He smiled. “It’s forgotten already.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes! Where did you go anyway?”

“Nowhere really, I just needed to get out for a bit. I needed air. I’ve been thinking about what you said about getting some fresh air and walking, and it did help going out. Just helped me think. That’s why I came back to say sorry. So, thank you. I should listen to you more often.” Callum smiled. 

“I am very wise.” He grinned, pressing a kiss to Callum’s lips. 

“Will you come with me next time?”

“Yeah, I’d go anywhere with you.”

Callum smiled at Ben, kissing him again. 

“Thank you. For everything.” Callum rested his head back on Ben, shuffling closer to him. 

Ben wrapped his arms a little tighter around Callum, his way of keeping him safe.

“I love you.” He whispered into his hair. 

“I love you too, Ben. I waited so long for you to tell me that and now I can’t believe it every time you say it to me. It still makes me happy when you say it.” Callum smiled, burying his nose into Ben’s shirt. 

“Well, I’m going to have to say it more often then, aren’t I, if it makes you happy? I love you so much, Cal. All I want is for you to be happy.”

Callum grinned to himself as Ben whispered it over and over into his hair, keeping him as close as possible.


	40. Chapter 40

Ben still didn’t know how to approach Callum some days. 

Some days, it would be like old times, Callum would seem happier, normal even. 

Callum had his bad days when he’d try and push Ben away too. 

Ben thought he was having a good day until something else bad happened. One step forward and about a hundred steps back. But it was worse this time...

Callum dropped a mug, splashing coffee over the countertop slipping over the side onto the floor. 

“Argh! Why is everything going wrong!” 

He sank to the floor picking up the pieces, snatching his hand back when he cut himself. 

Callum dropped all the pieces he’d picked up, sitting on the floor watching the blood dribble from his palm down his wrist.

“Cal! What happened?! Are you okay?” 

Ben rushed out of the bedroom, hearing the mug smash, kneeling down next to him, taking his hand to look at it. 

Callum snatched it back staring at it. 

“Cal?” 

Callum ignored him, still staring at his hand. 

“Callum?!” 

Ben took Callum’s face in his hands forcing him to look away from his hands and at him. “It’s okay, it’s just a mug.” 

“Get off me, Ben...” Ben let go of him, slowly, Callum pressing his back against the cupboard door. 

Ben stood up grabbing a towel, kneeling down next to him, giving it to him. 

“Why are you pushing me away?” He whispered. 

“I’m not.” Callum took the towel anyway, wrapping it around his hand. 

“Yes you are, Cal. I want to help. But it’s like you don’t care anymore.” 

“I do care...”

“You don’t seem to want to live your life anymore. You hardly go out, I know you have been recently, but only if you have to. You don’t speak to hardly anyone anymore. They’re your friends and family, Callum. They miss you. I miss you, Cal...”

Callum looked up at Ben, frowning as Ben sat fully on the floor next to Callum. 

“How can you miss me if I’m with you all the time?”

“Your here but it’s like your not. I get that your not going to be happy all the time, but I just want you to talk to me, Cal. I know I don’t know what your going through but I can try and understand. I want to help you. The doctor did explain some of how you’ll be, briefly but I want to know how YOUR feeling.”

“You can’t understand...”

Ben took Callum’s hand in both of his own, trying to get through to him.

“PLEASE, don’t shut me out. I want to understand and be here for you. All I want is for you to be happy and I know your not right now. You’ve not been the same since Keanu, I know that it’s not just gonna go away, but please, talk to me, I just want to help cos I love you...”

Callum looked up at Ben, meeting his gaze. 

“Let me in... please...”

Callum looked at Ben for a while, letting go of his hands and looking at his lap. 

Ben sighed to himself presuming Callum was going to shut him down again. 

“Every time I break or smash something or like now, hurt myself... I see him.”

“He’s not here anymore, Callum. I swear he’s never gonna come back.”

“I know, but he’s still in my head. He’s with me all the time and just want him to go away. I want it all to stop. And yeah, I don’t really care about anything anymore, sometimes I can’t be bothered with life...”

Ben held Callum’s face in his hands again. 

“I don’t ever want you to feel like that. If you ever feel low you can talk to me, I’ll talk to you or I’ll shut up and listen cos I don’t want you to feel like this. Don’t let him ruin your life...”

Callum brought his other hand up, wiping away Ben’s tears, knowing he’d upset Ben. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“Yes you did...” Ben whispered. “You did mean it and now your just saying you didn’t to try and stop me worrying. I wish I could make you feel better or other than what your feeling now.”

“I’m okay.” Callum reassured. “Honestly I’m fine. I don’t even know why I said it.” Callum took his hand back away from Ben, shuffling across a little. 

“Because that’s how you feel, Callum. And I want you to talk to me, instead of shutting me out. Please, I don’t want you to ever feel like that.”

“I don’t.” Callum said flatly, regretting he ever said it. 

“You need help, Callum! Proper help. Not just me, like someone professional if you feel like this!”

“No, I don’t, Ben! Just stop pushing! Just... just leave me alone...” Callum stood up quickly, Ben standing up too, gripping onto his arms, forcing him to look back at him. 

“You. Need. Help.”

“No I don’t. I’m absolutely fine. Now get off me!”

“No, Callum, I’m not this time, because I can’t let you go anywhere, knowing how you feel. What if you feel like there’s no way out and you try something stupid! I can’t lose you, Callum. Listen to me!!”

Callum shrugged Ben off him, turning away. 

“I just said I didn’t mean it, so stop twisting my words. I’m going out because I want to, not because I’m gonna try and kill myself!!”

Ben rushed to the front before Callum could get there. 

“Your not fine are you?! I’m not trying to twist anything! You said it because you trust me enough to tell me and you can! But then you shut me out again. I want to help you! Why won’t you let me help?!”

“Because I don’t need help! I don’t need a professional, I don’t need your help, I don’t need anyone’s help! Move, Ben, I want to go out.”

“Your gonna have to move me, cos I’m not letting you go out that door, knowing you might try and kill yourself!”

“You know I’m not gonna hurt you, Ben...”

“That’s because this isn’t who you are! The old Callum is in there somewhere and I won’t let you do this to yourself. Just look at what Keanu has reduced you to! You can’t let him ruin your life, let you take your own life!”

“I’m not gonna kill myself, okay?! I just want to go, let me out?!”

“This isn’t you, Callum? Talking like this and pretending everything’s fine. You can’t bottle it all up until you can’t take much more. Please, just sit down and let me get someone else to help you. I’ll do anything you want me too, whatever you need. But I need you to understand what you just said. You did mean it, I know it and you know it, so let someone help you...”

Callum groaned in frustration, turning around instead going to the bedroom. 

Ben let out a small sigh of relief. At least he could keep an eye on him when he was still in the flat. 

He fished his phone out of his pocket ringing Jay again. 

“Jay! I need you to come to the flat. I don’t know what to do with Callum!”

“Now? Is he okay?”

“No...” 

Ben sat down on the sofa, sobbing to himself. 

“He doesn’t want to be here anymore, Jay!!”

“In the flat? Why can’t you just go out with him for a bit?”

“He told me he wants die! Kill himself!!”

“What?! He said that? I’ll come round. Where is he now?”

“Not in so many words, but it was implied, I know it was! He said he can’t be bothered with life and he doesn’t care! He’s in the bedroom cos I wouldn’t let him out. I think I’ve made it a hundred times worse, Jay. Keanu forced him and now I’ve just done exactly the same, not letting him leave!”

“This is different, your trying to protect him, he’ll understand when he calms down. Just go and check on him. I’m on my way. Try not to worry.” 

Ben stood up walking to the bedroom, still talking to Jay. 

“No, I’ve made this worse, Jay, I’ve-...”

Ben trailed off, scanning the bedroom.

“What?! Ben! Talk to me!”

“He’s gone! He’s not here, Jay! He must have left when I was sitting on the sofa, he’s gone, Jay!!”

“Calm down! I’m nearly here. He can’t have gone far!”

“This is bad, this is bad, this is really really bad!! I need to find him! I can’t let him try anything!!!”


	41. Chapter 41

Ben spun around when he heard someone coming up the stairs, hoping it was Callum. 

He groaned in frustration, when he saw it was just Jay. 

Ben ushered him back out the door, down the stairs. 

“Come on! We can’t stay here and wait for him, we need to find him!”

“He can’t be that far!” Jay shuffled forward down the stairs, Ben still pushing him forward. 

They stood outside the funeral parlour, looking around. 

“You go that way, I’ll go left.” Ben told him, not waiting for a reply, walking off. 

“Come on, Cal, please be okay...”

‘You found him yet?’ Ben quickly sent the text to Jay.

‘Nothing.’

Ben groaned, looking everywhere. 

He finally found him in the last place he would have looked, on the floor, squeezing himself into a ball, in the corner at the allotments. 

Ben rushed over to him, sobbing to himself and rocking back and forth. 

“Callum...” Ben sat down next to him, the wet of the ground seeping through him already, Callum must be freezing. He wrapped his arms around Callum, as he pressed himself into Ben, crying even harder. 

“I can’t do it anymore, Ben!” He whined. 

“I know, I know darlin’, it’s alright. Your gonna be okay, I’ve got you.”

Callum choked out more sobs, his sobs morphing into low moans. He kept pushing himself further into Ben, trying to get as close as possible. 

“Sshh, just breathe. I’m gonna get you help. You need help, Callum.”

“I know...” Callum cried into Ben, knowing he was right. 

“You’ll be okay, we’ll be okay.” Ben squeezed his eyes shut, rocking them both, trying to convince himself too. 

“I can’t think straight. I keep seeing him, I can still feel him hurting me, I can still hear his voice in my head. I just want it all to stop, Ben! Please, make it stop!”

“I can’t, darlin’. Believe me, if I could take away all the pain that your feeling, I would in a heartbeat. If I could swap your place for mine, I’d do that too, because I hate seeing you like this. Your hurting too much.”

“I just want it to go away...”

“I know you do, but I’m gonna get someone who can help you, okay? I know you don’t want help, but I really think you do. They’ll help with everything going on in your head, help feel better.”

“I can’t cope with everything in my head. I can’t deal with everyone now! I just want it all to go away!”

“It will get better if you just let me take you to see someone. Please.”

Callum nodded slowly, wiping his eyes roughly. 

“I’m sorry...”

“Don’t be. I’m just glad you didn’t try anything. I thought you were going to.”

“No... I just needed to get out.”

“I was terrified when I realised you’d gone. I didn’t know what to think.”

“I’m sorry, I just needed to go.”

“No, I’m sorry, I should never have forced you to stay, not after what you’ve been through.”

“I know why you did it. I didn’t think you’d find me in the allotments, though, not exactly where I usually go. I just kept walking and ended up here.”

“I’d have kept looking until I found you.”

“I wasn’t gonna try anything you know.” Callum looked up at Ben. 

Ben looked a little unsure, but didn’t want Callum to worry. He didn’t know what he thought Callum might have tried. 

“I know, but you’ll still talk to someone one won’t you? Someone who knows more about all this stuff than me, cos I want to understand and help you.”

“I know you do. I’m sorry I’ve been so terrible to you lately, I know you care and want to help.” Callum rested his head back on Ben’s chest, sighing to himself. 

“It’s alright. I know your stressed. I just don’t want you to push me away. Shout or scream at me all you want, but I’m not gonna go away.”

“Arr, shame.” Callum grinned. “Was hoping to get rid of you.”

“Oi!” Ben smiled at him, lifting Callum’s chin up gently, getting Calum to look at him. “I said I’m gonna be here for you and I am. I just want you to be happy.”

“I will be. Just need to sort everything out in my head.”

“I don’t care how long it takes, as long your okay then I will be too. I’m not okay with sitting outside on the floor in the cold though.” Ben smiled. He wrapped his arms a little tighter around Callum, trying to keep him warm. 

“Same. It is a bit cold innit?”

Ben stood up, holding Callum’s hands, pulling him up too. 

“Home? Or do you wanna go somewhere else? Cos you can go anywhere if you want to.”

“Anywhere. Just walk with me.”

Ben smiled at Callum, holding his hands, neither quite sure where they were going, just wanting to be with each other.


	42. Chapter 42

Ben had noticed a change in Callum since he finally went to see a counsellor after some more nagging from Ben. 

Ben walked into the flat, smiling at Callum seemingly floating around the flat, busying himself cooking. 

Callum smiled at Ben, spotting him standing in the doorway, holding a large cardboard box. 

“You alright?” Callum crossed the room, pressing a light kiss to Ben’s lips, Ben holding the box out of the way. Callum dashed back into the kitchen area, stirring something.

“Yeah, I’m good. It’s just nice, this.” Ben nodded to Callum in the kitchen. 

“This?” Callum turned back around, facing Ben, still gripping onto the box. 

“It’s normal. Like before. Just you cooking. You know I love whatever you make.”

Callum smiled at Ben, frowning at him, walking slowly to the sofa. 

“Heavy?”

“Just a bit, delicate cargo, this is.” Ben smiled. 

Ben sat down, placing the box on the floor, patting next to him. 

“It’s for you.”

“Me?” Callum frowned at Ben, crossing the room and sitting down slowly next to him, eyeing the box up. 

“Yup. Open it. Slowly though.”

“Slowly? Should I be scared? I’m feeling scared...”

“Don’t be.” Ben smiled. 

Callum squinted at Ben, a little wary, peering into the box, looking back up just as quickly. 

“Is this what I think it is?!”

Ben grinned at Callum, a smile spreading across his face. 

“Well, if it’s furry, yes.”

“You bought me a dog?!”

“I bought you a dog!!”

Ben smiled at Callum grinning at the box. He’d not seen him properly smile for so long, his eyes shining. 

“He’s a golden retriever.”

Callum threw his arms around Ben, hugging him tightly. 

“This is amazing, Ben!”

Ben smiled at Callum, wrapping his arms around him. 

“How did you get it in the box? It’s like fully grown?”

Callum pulled apart, looking back inside the box. 

“Just sat there. They’re good you know.”

“Sat there? Is it ill or something?”

Callum let it climb out of the box, immediately jumping onto the sofa between them, resting it’s head on Callum’s knee. 

“No, you muppet, they’re meant to be like that. Calm.”

“They’re?”

“It’s a therapy dog.”

“What do I need one of them for?”

“You might not think you need it but I reckon it will help you. I’ve done so much research and I’ve been to see people about it?”

“You have?” 

Ben smiled at Callum, stroking the dogs head slowly, even just now he looked calmer. 

“Yeah. Oh, before I forget, you’ve got to keep going to these dog class things for a bit, they’re like little bonding sessions for you both.”

“Think we’re already doing some bonding aren’t we buddy?”

Ben smiled at Callum, still grinning at the dog, playing with its ears. 

“Where’d you get him from?”

“I found this place, not far from here. They train ‘em up so they can give them to people. That’s why he’s so docile. He’s even certified for that therapy dog association thing. He can keep you company if I’m not around.”

“Your always around.” Callum smiled. 

“I meant like if I need to go somewhere quickly, he’ll be here. Think he’ll really help you, he lives around you to your needs. So whatever your feeling, he’ll know.”

“Really? I never even knew you could get dogs for this.”

“Neither did I, but I wanted to help you and I find the place online, went to check it out the other day and here we are. He’s only just passed his training so he’s still young, only a year old. I’m afraid, I couldn’t buy a puppy, they wouldn’t work, probably wouldn’t do their job.”

“Arr, never mind, your still cute aren’t you buddy?” Callum grinned. 

“Is that it’s name?”

“What?”

“Buddy. You keep calling it that.”

“Oh, Erm, dunno. I just meant buddy in general. Buddy??”

The dog looked up at Callum. 

“You like that? I can call you Buddy can’t we? Do you like it, Ben?”

“Whatever you want, it’s your dog.”

“Buddy it is then!” Callum grinned. 

“It’s a bit like a guide dog cos it sort of looks after you, when your out and at home. It won’t react to loud noises or unfamiliar situations. It will walk with you outside, not getting over excited. And if it thinks your in danger it will take you away. They’re meant to be really good for your mental health. It knows if your sad or happy or angry, whatever.”

“Thank you, really. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to. I just want you to be happy. Wanted to do my bit to help you.”

“You already do enough for me and I’ll always be grateful for that. I am happy too. Can you tell Buddy? I’m happy.”

Buddy sat up, wagging his tail, sitting on Callum. 

“Your a bit heavy!”

Ben smiled at Callum, holding onto Buddy, stroking him still. 

“You like him?”

“Yeah, course I like him. I love it, Ben. I just don’t want you getting yourself into debt trying to help me.”

“Oh, he wasn’t that expensive...”

“How much did it all cost?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Tell me Ben. Please.”

“‘Bout. 11 and half grand.”

“Grand?! Just cos it’s a therapy dog?! Ben, I can’t accept that!”

“Yes you can! Therapy dogs have to have the training and stuff, that’s why they’re expensive. It’s fine, it’s the money I nicked from Phil’s account, before.

“You bought me a dog, with stolen money!”

“Yup. It’s fine it’s only dad.”

“He’s gonna go crazy when he finds out.”

“I’ll just have to set Buddy on him won’t I?” He smiled. “He’ll protect us.”

Callum smiled at Ben, holding onto Buddy a little tighter. 

“I can still take it for walks, right?”

“Yeah, course you can. It’s still a dog. It will still need everything a normal dog has, but it’s just better behaved.”

“I’ll give you loads of treats! Don’t wanna make you fat though? You coming with us, Ben?”

Ben smiled at Callum, grinning to himself. 

“Now?”

“Yeah!”

“What about the cooker?”

“Oh, I’ll turn it off, do it later. Did Ben put you in a box?” Callum pouted. “Was he being mean? You wanna go out don’t you?”

“Don’t you turn it against me! It might get me or something. Duties and all that, looking after you, might see me as the enemy.”

Callum grinned at Ben, looking back at Buddy. “No attacking Ben, yeah?”

“I only put him in there to surprise you.”

“I know, I’m kidding. Come on, I wanna go out for a bit.”

“Buddy must be doing something. You didn’t want to go out this morning.”

“Yeah well, we can’t keep him stuck in here all day, can we Buddy?”

Callum stood up off the sofa, still holding Buddy. 

“You do know it has legs right? You don’t have to carry it everywhere?”

“I know! I was just...”

“Carrying him.”

“Fine.” He huffed, putting him down. “Right, I think we should go shopping, buy you some nice things. A nice bed, some treats, oo and some toys.”

“Arr, you shouldn’t Cal.” Ben smiled. 

“I meant the dog.” He raised his eyes at Ben, holding his hand out for Ben to take. 

“Oh, thought you meant me.” He grinned. “I’ll have a nice bed and some toys.”

“Ben!” Callum grabbed Ben’s hand, dragging him with him. 

“What?!” Ben smiled. 

“Just come on!”

“I’m coming! Blimey you’ll be dragging Buddy behind you if you go any faster.”

“I reckon he’ll be a good boy. You said he would so...”

“I’m always a good boy.” Ben grinned, earning a smack on the arm from Callum. “Ow!”

“I’ll set Buddy on you...”

“Fine, fine! I’m being quiet.”

Callum smiled triumphantly. 

“Your gonna keep using him against me now aren’t you?” Ben grinned. 

“Yup.”


	43. Chapter 43

Ben opened his eyes slowly, to Callum whimpering to himself in his sleep. 

He shuffled closer to Callum, rubbing down his arm slowly, taking his hand back quickly when it made Callum jump, moaning to himself. 

“Sssh, your alright. Your at home. It’s okay.”

He tried again, wrapping his arm around Callum, jolting him from his sleep. 

Callum sat up, quickly, struggling to breathe. 

“Nonono, I can’t!”

Ben sat up too, Callum’s gaze flicking over him, relaxing instantly, realising it was just Ben.

“Your okay. Your safe, yeah? Come ‘ere.”

Callum shuffled closer to Ben, wrapping his arms around Callum, keeping him close. 

“I promise you, your safe. I’m here with you too. I’m not gonna let anything hurt you, okay?”

Callum wasn’t listening too busy struggling to breathe. 

“Just breathe for me.”

“I can’t!”

“Yes you can. Come on, we’ll do it together.”

Ben stroked Callum’s hair away from his eyes, breathing slowly. 

He stopped when Callum got it on his own, slowly calming down. 

“See, your fine. I’ve got you.”

Callum pushed himself into Ben, trying to get as close as possible. 

“I’m sorry...” He whispered. 

“Hey, don’t be sorry! You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, okay?”

Callum said nothing, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“You’ve done nothing wrong. I swear I don’t care if you wake me up, cos if you need me I want to be here for you.”

“I know...”

“You wanna talk about it? You don’t need to be scared, okay? I promise your safe. I’m here with you.”

Callum’s didn’t say anything for a while, closing his eyes, concentrating on Ben stroking his hair. 

Ben didn’t say anything either, letting Callum speak in his own time. 

“It’s just...” He sighed to himself trying to find the words to tell Ben. 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want. Was just asking if you wanted to talk about it, not you have to.”

“I want to. I keep talking about it all with the counsellor, and it just makes me think about it more when I’m at home. And I can’t sleep anymore...”

“She said it would start like this though but once you adjust and work your way through it, you’ll start feeling better.”

“I wish I would. I feel like I’m going backwards.”

“It’s only cos your talking about it more. It will get better.”

“I hope so...”

Ben kissed the top of his hair, sliding out of bed.

“Where you goin’?!”

“It’s alright. Just to the kitchen. Gonna get you some water. I’ll be quick.”

Callum nodded, pulling the covers right up, trying to keep himself warm, without Ben there. 

“Five minutes.” Ben promised. 

Ben filled a glass with water, turning around to go back to the bedroom, spotting Buddy lying in his bed. 

Ben placed the glass down quietly, walking over and sitting down next to him, stroking his head. 

“Innit easy being a dog?” He smiled. Buddy looked up at him, resting his head on Ben’s knee. “Although I suppose your supposed to be looking after Callum. Working apparently. You having some down time too? Callum can’t sleep, too busy stressing. You seem to calm him down. Callum loves you already. Practically emptied the pet shop, buying toys and everything else for you this morning. Your gonna be so spoiled, you already are and you’ve not even been here for a day.” He smiled.

Ben sat with him for a few, playing with his ears. 

“Who knew a dog could be the answer? Think he needs you right now.” He smiled. Ben stood up, heading back to the kitchen grabbing the water. 

“You coming, Bud? Or you staying in your bed, I told Callum it was way too big for you, insisted you needed the biggest, comfiest one.”

Ben smiled at Buddy, jumping down, standing next to Ben, looking up at him. 

Ben opened the door to the bedroom slowly, making Callum jump. 

“It’s alright, it’s only me. I’ve got someone who wants to see you though?”

Buddy jumped onto the bed, trying to lick Callum’s face. 

“No! No kisses!” Callum laughed, trying to push Buddy’s was away.

Ben smiled at Callum already a lot happier. 

He placed the water on Callum’s side table, sliding into bed next to Callum. 

Callum managed to get Buddy to calm down, curling himself up on the end of the bed. 

“Thank you.” Callum smiled.

“I’ve not done anything? It was only water?” Ben frowned. 

“I meant for everything. For Buddy. For being you.”

Ben wrapped his arm around Callum, holding his hand, Callum’s other hand on Buddy’s head. 

“I knew Buddy would end up on the bed eventually.” Ben whispered, pressing a kiss to Callum’s forehead.

“He’s too cute. You can’t resist his charms.” Callum grinned. 

“I swear, if I get woken up cos he’s licking my face, I’m taking him back to where I got him from.”

“Arr, you wouldn’t do that to me.” Callum pouted. 

“Don’t know about Buddy’s charms, but I definitely can’t resist your charms.” Ben smiled.


	44. Chapter 44

“Does he know if Callum’s upset?” Jay frowned.

Jay and Ben stood in the kitchen, watching Callum, playing with Buddy in the living room. 

“Supposed to. Cal slept with him all night. Didn’t wake up once with Buddy there.”

Ben gave Jay a coffee, taking a mug of his own. 

“Still can’t believe you bought him a dog.”

“If it helps him then it was worth it.”

“Callum’s really changed you, you know?” Jay smiled. 

“Yeah, Callum’s a good person. I’m just glad that everything that happened is behind him and he’s seems to be getting better. I just want him to be happy.”

“He looks pretty happy to me right now.”

“Now yeah, he can go the opposite way too, angry at everyone or get freaked out. Buddy already seems to be helping him, I only bought him yesterday. Cal woke this morning looking happy, he hasn’t been for so long...”

Jay wrapped his arm round Ben’s shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m okay.” Ben wiped his eyes, putting his coffee down. 

“Don’t apologise, it must be hard for you too.”

“It is sometimes. But if Callum’s happy then I am.”

Ben smiled at Callum, sitting on the sofa, Buddy immediately following, sitting on Callum, making him laugh.

“What’s the difference between a therapy dog and a normal one then?” Jay frowned. 

“Loads of things. I have no idea how but apparently Buddy can sense how Callum is feeling. If he’s sad, Buddy will sit with him, he’ll be more calm around him. And now if he’s happy Buddy will reinforce that, trying to keep him happy. That’s the whole point of therapy dogs. To keep their owners happy. It’s good for his mental health.”

“Who knew a dog could be an answer to all his problems?” 

“That’s what I thought, but Buddy is really helping Callum. You know he’ll try and make Callum play with him or take him for a walk when he starts getting stressed? He can sense it apparently.”

“It’s weird a dog can stop him stressing out and panicking before he actually does.”

“Well, as long as Callum is okay, that’s all that matters. Buddy will know if Callum’s having a good day or a bad day.”

“Take it, it’s a good day today?” 

“So far. You coming? You haven’t met Buddy yet.” He smiled. 

“Course I am?! I need to meet the star of the hour!”

“My life more like. Didn’t know I’d be so grateful to a dog!”


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think I’m gonna wrap this story up soon, it can’t keep going forever! Unless someone wants me to write or explore anything different, but I have a good idea for an ending. Ive got loads of chapters left on my other two fics, so I’ll probably start updating them often instead! 
> 
> People are probably getting bored of it by now!!

It had been a few weeks since Ben had bought Buddy for Callum. 

Callum seemed to have had more good days than bad. Ben thought maybe it was just the night time situation with him waking up and panicking they needed to work through now. 

Callum walked down the stairs to the funeral parlour, going to find Ben, Buddy following. 

“I’m not pushing but do you not know when he’ll come back to work? I need him here it’s hard doing everything on my own.”

Callum was about to open the door when he stopped hearing Ben and Jay’s lowered voices. 

“He’s not ready, Jay. You know, he wakes up in the night struggling to breathe? He’s still terrified Keanu’s gonna take him and hurt him again. He wakes up in the morning like it never happened. Buddy’s started sleeping with us every night, course I don’t mind, cos it helps Callum sleep but I really don’t think he’s ready for work.”

“Well, I said I’m not pushing and I’m not. Course he can have a long as he needs.”

“Thank you. Buddy has literally been my life saver. He always jumps up when Callum’s wakes up, trying to get Callum to stroke him. It really helps him, you know, having Buddy with him. I’m glad I bought him.”

“Pfft, at the price you paid for him, so he should work.”

“Work? He’s a dog Jay, he’s not a toy, it’s what their trained to do. You don’t see Callum when he freaks out, it’s scary sometimes, trying for get through to him. But Buddy helps, then Callum starts seeing me again, calming down again.”

“He hasn’t had any bad episodes during the day has he?” 

“Not for a while, thank god. I think the counselling is really helping too.”

“For a while? How bad was he then? Before he’d let people see him?”

“He was making progress one day then I dropped a flipping jar and he freaked out again, insisting he cleaned my hand cos I cut myself.”

“Were you okay?”

“I was fine, Jay. It was the smallest cut and Callum panicked. I think he thought I was gonna die! He was so sure it was Keanu that did it.”

“He’s okay now?”

“Yeah, yeah, course. He’s not been in one of his trances since then. He’s been fine in the day since, Buddy’s been keeping him busy, don’t think he has much time to think about it then.” 

“He must have a lot going on in his head right now.”

“He’s still fragile Jay. I never know what to say to him incase I break him or something! Thank god he hasn’t told me he wants to die again either. I don’t know what he’s feeling, he never tells me anything about the counselling. I just presume it’s going okay!”

Ben spun around when Callum swung the door open heading straight outside, Buddy following instantly. 

“Argh, Cal?! Wait!”

“Leave me alone, Ben!”

“I need to go.” Ben told Jay. 

“Go. Sorry, I’ve upset him.”

“No, it’s not you, he’s just all over the place at the moment. I’ll talk to you later.”

Ben dashed off spotting Callum walking rather fast in the opposite direction to Ben. He rushed off after him trying to catch up with him. 

“Callum! Just slow down!”

“No, no, Don’t let me stop you whinging to Jay how difficult I am!”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Ben hurried after him trying to catch up. “Callum please! Just slow down. Let me explain!”

“You can’t bare to speak to me incase I break. I understand fine, thank you.” 

“You don’t though, you only heard part of it!”

“Part of it enough, you just go back to moaning to Jay about me cos I’m too delicate to handle.”

“I wasn’t moaning! He was only asking if your coming back to work yet-“

“I’m not going to work...”

“I know! I told him that! I just said your not ready, please, Callum, just listen to me. If you hadn’t have come in I would have kept telling Jay your not going back to work yet. It’s not like he’s gonna sack you is it? I wouldn’t let him anyway. He’s knows what you went though and he said he’d wait. I just don’t want you hurting!”

“He doesn’t know though does he?! No one knows what I went through! If you want me to be okay, you’ll leave me alone!”

Callum stopped, Buddy spinning round growling at Ben. 

Ben glanced at Callum, watching Buddy. 

“No, he doesn’t but he understands why you can’t go back to work yet. Come on, Callum. I’m not the enemy! Buddy seems to think so!”

Callum ignored him, rounding the corner. Ben stopped following him, knowing he’d just walk even further away. 

“Argh! Way to go Ben! You’ve upset him again!”


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know if anyone is still actually reading this, but I think I’m gonna finish it soon, cos I can’t keep it going forever!
> 
> I’d love to know what people think is good and bad about it for feedback I can transfer to my other fics to make them better!

Ben spotted Callum sitting on a bench talking to Buddy, sitting next to him. He sat with his back to Ben, so didn’t notice him. 

“You understand, don’t you Bud?”

Ben smiled at them both, Callum stroking Buddy sitting on his lap again. 

“How come you know how I’m feeling?” Callum sighed. “I just feel like no one understands me. I only sleep cos your with me. I guess I can talk to you, cos your not exactly gonna judge me are you, your just a dog.” He smiled. 

“I just don’t how to explain everything to Ben. I know he wants to help but I keep hurting him. And you didn’t help Mr, growling at him. Blimey, you are heavy.”

Callum smiled at Buddy, licking his hand, sensing he was sad again. 

“You didn’t need to, growl. He was right, Ben isn’t the enemy, Bud, yeah? I know he cares and I just go and snap at him again. Don’t know what’s wrong me...”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Cal...”

Callum looked up at Ben, sitting down slowly next to him. 

“Isn’t there?”

“Course not! I know your scared.”

“I just want things to go back to the way they were.”

“You know, you’ll never forget everything but it will get easier in time.”

“I’ve had time, Ben! It’s been ages and I still keep flipping out at you!”

“I don’t care, Cal, it’s not your fault.”

“It is though. I’m the one who shouted at you, I’m the one who keeps taking it out on you and it’s not fair on you.”

“I just want you to be okay. Can’t you just come home, it’s too cold out here and you haven’t got a coat on.”

“I’m okay here with, Buddy.” Callum sat shivering anyway. 

Ben pulled his coat off, wrapping it around Callum’s shoulders. 

“Please don’t push me away, Cal...”

Callum said nothing but wrapped Ben’s coat around himself anyway, wrapping his arms  
around Buddy, holding him closer to him, Buddy resting his head on Callum’s shoulder. 

“I’d never tell Jay anything you specifically told me you didn’t want me to tell me to tell him, you know?” Ben looked at Callum, stroking Buddy’s fur not sure what else to do with himself. 

“I just don’t want you feeling like you’ve got this sense of duty to stay.” Callum whispered. 

“Where’s that come from?! I stay because I love you Cal and I want you to be happy!”

Ben looked at Callum, waiting for him to tell him how he was really feeling but he just looked away again. Ben sighed to himself, taking Callum’s hand in his. 

“You can trust me.”

“I do trust you, it’s just me being stupid again.”

“Hey your not stupid, I know your struggling but I want to help. I was telling Jay that your not ready to go back to work yet.”

“I know, I don’t even know why I got annoyed. I just...” 

The doctor had told Ben he’d easily get upset or angry, quicker to snap or flip out. 

“You don’t need to explain. I get it. Of course your stressed. But you don’t need to worry about work. You can go back whenever your ready.”

“I will try to talk to you more, I will. I just know how sometimes.”

“Tell me in your own time, I’ll still be here. Please come home, your freezing.”

Callum looked at Ben for awhile, nodding slowly. 

“I’m sorry...” He whispered. 

“Don’t be, everyone gets annoyed sometimes.” Ben smiled. “Jay just wanted to know how you were.”

“I know. I am sorry for flipping out at you though.”

“It’s okay, honestly.” 

Ben stood up, holding his hand out for Callum to take. 

They walked together, Callum stopping. 

“What’s up?” Ben asked. 

“Bud? You coming?” Callum looked at Buddy, standing a few steps behind them. 

“Why won’t he come?” Ben frowned. 

Callum let go of Ben’s hand, walking back over to Buddy, kneeling down to him. 

“What’s wrong Buddy? Don’t you want to go home?” 

Buddy relaxed when Callum came back to him. 

“Come on, I’ll give you some more treats, when we get home?” He smiled. 

Ben walked over to them, Buddy tensing under Callum’s hold. 

“Oh, Buddy, I told you I’m okay with Ben. He didn’t upset me, not really. You don’t need to protect me from him. It’s okay. I promise.”

Callum smiled at Buddy looking at Callum back to Ben like he was working it out. 

“Coming?” Callum asked him. Buddy licked Callum’s hand, keeping his head under Callum’s hand, stroking him. “Take that as a yes?” Callum smiled. 

He stood back up, taking Ben’s hand, Buddy following staying as close to Callum as possible. 

“Home?” Callum asked. 

“Course.” Ben smiled


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys, I’ve been focusing on some of my others!! X

Callum lay facing Ben, smiling at him asleep, his messy hair lying across his face. 

Ben hadn’t slept properly for so long because of him, so he had no intention of waking him up. 

Callum gently stroked, some of his hair away from his eyes, Ben grumbling slightly. 

“Tooearly...” Ben muttered screwing his face up pressing it further into the pillow. 

“Ssh, I know. Go back to sleep.” Callum whispered. 

“GoT’Slip...” Ben mumbled to Callum, vaguely hearing his voice, smiling to himself. 

“Just relax, babe. I’m not gonna get you up.”

“Mmm... youK?”

“I’m fine, Ben. Go to sleep, Buddy’s with me.”

Callum looked up at Buddy, asleep on the end of the bed, his tail wagging slowly in his sleep. 

“Bud...” Ben sighed, seeming to relax more, reaching his arm out aimlessly for Callum patting on the sheets trying to find Callum. 

Callum shuffled a little closer to him, Ben wrapping his arm around Callum’s waist, burying his nose in Callum’s chest, breathing him in. 

Ben smiled to himself, knowing Callum was safe, still muttering to himself, half asleep. 

“Slip.”

“Sleep, Ben.” Callum chuckled, smiling at Ben unable to speak properly. 

“Slip...”

Callum kissed the top Ben’s head, wrapping one arm around his waist, the other holding Ben’s head to his chest. 

“L’veyew.” Ben whispered, pressing a light kiss to his chest, his hand stroking Callum’s side absently. 

“I love you too, Ben.”

It made Callum feel better, feeling like he was keeping Ben safe, even though they were only lying in bed. 

Ben went quiet again, snuggling closer to Callum, sharing each other’s warmth. 

“Thank you, for everything, Ben.” Callum whispered to him, listening to his gentle breathing. “You’ve been great these past few months, putting up with me, knowing how to get through to me. Sticking with me even though I tried to push you away.” Callum squeezed his eyes shut trying not to think about Keanu, focusing on thoughts of Ben, Lexi and Buddy instead. “I love you so much...”

~*~

Callum woke up again, a while later, Ben still wrapped around him. He always seemed to sleep lighter nowadays, waking up quicker or more easily. 

He’d relax as soon as he saw Ben and Buddy with him. 

Ben shuffled a little closer to Callum, kissing his chest, sitting up kissing his shoulder too. He rested his head against the headboard, looking at Callum. 

“Mornin’” Ben smiled. “You sleep better again?”

“Yeah, I did actually. Usually just wake up a few times now.”

“Good. Not the keep waking up part, the whole not-having-nightmares-anymore part.” Ben winced, feeling like he’d made it worse. 

Callum grabbed Ben’s hand, smiling at him. 

“It’s fine, Ben, honestly, stop worrying about everything you have to say to me.”

“I just want you to be okay...”

“I am.”

“You are...”

“Yeah?” Callum frowned. 

Ben stroked Callum’s hair out of his face, still lying on his pillow instead of sitting up. 

“It’s just you haven’t said you have been to okay for a long time... and you just said you are. Just makes me happy that your finally happy.”

Callum smiled at Ben, scooting himself you, to sit next to Ben, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. 

“I’m happy.” He whispered, resting his forehead against Ben’s, closing his eyes. 

Ben smiled to himself, waiting for Callum to be happy for so long. 

“Then I am too.” Ben whispered back pressing their lips back together. 

Callum looked at Buddy, smiling to himself. 

“Buddy’s just being lazy. He was asleep when I woke up earlier this morning, when you were half asleep and he’s still fast asleep now.”

“Can’t remember waking up myself.” Ben frowned. 

“You were moaning cos you didn’t want to get up yet.” Callum chuckled. 

“I was?”

“M-h. You asked me if I was okay, even though you were half asleep.”

“That’s cos I care about you. I always want you to be okay.”

Callum hooked his hand around Ben’s, pressing a kiss to Ben’s hand, before placing them both down in between them. 

“And you kept saying slip instead of sleep. It was cute.” Callum grinned. 

“You said I was half asleep?! I could have been saying all sorts.” Ben smiled. 

Callum looked at Ben, searching his face, Ben noticing his gaze. 

“What?” Ben asked nervously. “I said something weird didn’t I?”

“No, I just want to ask you something.”

“Okay? Go on.”

“Its more a order than a question, cos I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Well, as long as it isn’t tryna teach Buddy a new trick, cos he never listens to me. Other than that, I’ll do anything.”

“It’s not about Buddy, well technically it is but it’s not??”

“Spit it out, Cal, your making me nervous now.”

“I know you’ve practically moved in since it all but I want you to move in properly.” Callum looked at Ben, searching his face. 

“Really?” Ben grinned. 

“Yes! Move in with me and Bud, Ben.” 

Ben kissed Callum, still grinning at him. 

“Will you?” Callum asked again. 

“Course I will!”

“Yeah?” 

“I’d love to, Callum!” Ben threw his arms around Callum, pressing a kiss to his neck. 

“You gonna bring me breakfast in bed every morning?”  
Callum grinned. 

“Every morning.” Ben nodded. “Oo, wait there.” 

Ben slid out of bed pulling the cover up to make sure Callum was warm, disappearing into the kitchen. 

He returned a while later with coffee and breakfast for them both.

Ben gave it to Callum looking really pleased with himself. 

“Didn’t even forget Buddy.” Ben smiled. He left a bowl of food in the corner of the room, Buddy smelling it and diving off the bed. 

“Your a good person, Ben.” Callum smiled, as Ben got back into bed next to Callum. 

“It’s breakfast?”

“Not just this, you muppet, I meant for everything. You’ve been really good to me these past few months. And I’m grateful for everything that you’ve done. I know I wasn’t the best to be around but you stuck by me.”

“Course I will, I love you.”

“And I’ve been thinking when you were gone-“

“You are gonna ask me to teach Buddy new tricks aren’t you?” Ben grinned. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Callum smiled. “It’s been a few weeks since I said I didn’t want to, but I think I do now. I’m gonna go back to work too.”

Ben looked at Callum, trying to work him out. 

“Your sure about this?”

“Yeah, I want to. But only if that’s okay with you, cos I don’t want you to be worrying all the time.”

“Course it’s fine, you don’t need my permission to make your own decisions in life. I’m here for the support.” Ben smiled. 

Callum smiled at Ben, looking happier. 

“That’s settles then.” Callum said to himself. 

“Although...” 

“What?” Callum frowned. 

“Can’t you stay here for today? Stay in bed with me?” Ben grinned. 

“How can I say no to that?” Callum smiled. 

“I’m glad your finally getting back to normal.”

“So am I. Whatever normal is?”

“Me, you, Lexi, Jay and Lo, Buddy. Me and you living together. Loads of things.”

“I love you, you know that?”

“Sure do.” Ben smiled. “I love you too, Cal. All I want is for you to be happy and spend the rest of our lives together. Cos I don’t wanna lose you, not ever.”

“Is that you asking me to marry you?” Callum grinned, joking. “I’d have married you ages ago if I could.” 

“Maybe...”

“What?!” Callum looked up quickly at Ben, searching his eyes. 

Ben hooked his hand around Callum’s looking into his eyes. 

“Marry me, Callum.”


End file.
